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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 

Sckeel  of  Libt.ry  00022226869 

Science 


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• 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hil 


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WILLIAM  THE   SILENT. 

From  an  ancient  English  engraving. 


THE    STORY   OF 


WILLIAM   THE  SILENT 


THE    NETIIERLAND    WAR, 


1555—1584. 


BY    MARY    BARRETT.MCU- 


PUBLISHED    BY 
WARREN    AND     BLAKESLEE, 

251   WASHINGTON   STREET,    BOSTON. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 
WARREN    AND    BLAKESLEE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 


PREFACE. 

Tnis  book  is  designed  particularly  for  young 
persons  who  have  not  time  or  opportunity  to  read 
the  stflry  in  full,  in  the  extensive  works  of  our 
standard  authors.  The  boys  and  girls  of  the 
American  republic  should  know  by  what  struggle 
religious  liberty  has  been  won,  in  other  countries 
and  other  times.  It  is  good  to  behold  moral  hero- 
ism anywhere;  and  we  shall  rarely  find  it  more 
sublimely  disj:>layed  than  in  the  scenes  of  the  Neth- 
erland  war.  It  might  be  added  that,  to  not  a  few 
of  our  citizens,  this  is  the  history  of  their  own 
fatherland. 

The  authorities  chiefly  consulted  have  been  the 
works  of  Motley  and  Prescott,  which  we  hope 
many  of  our  young  readers  will  hereafter  study  for 
themselves.     In  regard  to  the  accompanying  map, 


4  PREFACE. 

we  may  remark  that  the  changes  in  internal  bound- 
aries which  have  occurred  in  the  lapse  of  three 
hundred  years  render  it  obviously  impossible  to 
reproduce  the  former  outlines  of  some  of  the  prov- 
inces with  absolute  correctness ;  but  we  trust  the 
representation  is  sufficiently  accurate  to  explain  the 
narrative.  .  m.  b. 

NOTE. 

The  bird's  eye  view  of  Leyden  given  at  page  362  is  taken 
from  a  memorial  volume,  published  at  Leyden,  on  the  third 
tennial  of  the  University,  which  occurred  in  1725. 

In  those  days  the  old  Rhine  did  not  run  into  the  sea  at  all,  but 
was  lost  in  the  vast  sand  hills  which  were  constantly  accumulat- 
ing on  the  coast.  This  was  the  case  for  many  centuries  ;  but  a 
channel  has  now  been  cut  through. 

The  portion  of  the  city  wall  which  fell  during  the  last  night 
of  the  siege  may  be  identified  on  the  bird's  eye  view,  as  that 
lying  between  the  gate  next  Lammen,  called  the  Cow-gate  or 
Meadow-gate,  and  the  first  tower  to  the  eastward  on  the  read 
er's  right  hand.  The  great  church,  or  cathedral,  may  be  seen 
in  the  western  part  of  the  city,  not  far  from  the  Cow-gate  ;  the 
old  tower,  and  the  church  of  Saint  Pancras,  are  near  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  channels  of  the  river. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  SCENE  OF  THE  STORT 13 

Connection  between  the  history  of  Holland  and  that  of  Ameri- 
ca —  The  Netherlands  described  —  Their  government  —  Early 
history. 

CHAPTER   II. 

THE  YOUTH  OF  THE  PRINCE 20 

Nassau  and  Orange  described  —  William's  parentage  and  early 
training  —  Favorite  page  of  the  emperor  — Magnificent  es- 
tablishment at  Brussels  —  Abdication  of  Charles  V. 

CHAPTER   III. 

A  SECRET  DISCOVERED 34 

Treaty  of  Cateau-Cambresis  — "William  a  hostage  at  the  French 
court — Hunting-party  in  the  wood  of  Vincennes  —Confi- 
dential disclosures  —  The  surname  of  the  "Silent"  — 
William's  resolve  — Philip  n.  sails  for  Spain  —  Perilous  voy- 
age —  Auto-da-fe  at  Valladolid. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

INQUISITIONS  AND  INQUISITORS 44 

Dawn  of  the  Reformation  in  the  Netherlands  — Edicts  of 
Charles  V.  — New  bishops-^- Why  the  people  opposed  them 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

—  Three  forms  of  the  inquisition — Stories  of  a  model  in- 
quisitor —  Case  of  Bertrand  Le  Bias  —  How  many  sous  were 
charged  for  burning  a  man  alive. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  PRINCE'S  WEDDING- 67 

Anna  of  Saxony  —  Obstacles  to  the  match  — How  the  reli- 
gious question  was  settled  —  Entertainment  of  the  guests  — 
Going  out  to  meet  the  bridegroom  —  Grand  banquet  and 
tournaments. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

TROUBLE  WITH  THE  CARDINAL 67 

Granvelle  as  prime  minister  —  Hostility  of  the  Netherlander 

—  Remonstrances  of  the  chief  nobles  —  Why  Marquis  Ber- 
ghen  hesitated  to  burn  heretics  —  Caricature  of  the  cardi- 
nal—The foolscap  livery  — The  cardinal  sent  to  visit  his 
mother  —  His  volunteer  escort. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

EGMONT'S  MISSION  TO  SPAIN 82 

Needful  reforms  proposed  —  The  city  of  Bruges  versus  Inquis- 
itor Titlemann—  What  the  decrees  of  Trent  were  —  Scene  in 
the  council  — Egmont's  reception  in  Spain  —  Result  of  his 
embassy  —  Proclamation  of  the  decrees  —  Two  memorable 
weddings. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  LEAGUE  AND  THE  BEGGARS 96 

Sermon  of  Junius  at  Culemberg  House  —  Object  of  the  League 

—  Brederode  presents  the  "Request" — Berlaymont's  gibe 

—  The  banquet— Order  of  "  The  Beggars  "  instituted— Bre- 
derode's  alleged  crime  at  Antwerp. 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  FIELD-PREACHING Ill 

How  Margaret  dealt  with  an  offender  at  Tournay  —  The"  Mod- 
eration " —  Berghen  and  Montigny  sent  to  Spain  —  Mid- 
night gathering  at  the  bridge  of  Ernonville  —.The  monk's 
sermon  at  Harlem  —  Alarm  of  the  Duchess  — She  appeals 
to  William  of  Orange. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  IMAGE-BREAKING 126 

Splendor  of  Netherland  churches  —  Festival  of  the  Omme- 
gang  at  Antwerp  — ' '  Mayken ' '  —  Antwerp  cathedral  —  Hes- 
itation of  the  magistrates  —  A  night  of  destruction  —  Effect 
of  the  tumult  — Terror  of  Margaret —She  signs  the  "Ac- 
cord." 

CHAPTER  XL 

•'PHILIP  THE  PRUDENT." 144 

How  the  king  treated  the  case  of  the  Netherlands  —  Pre- 
tended concessions  privately  revoked  —  "  Masterly  dissimu- 
lation "  —  Remorse  of  Margaret  for  having  granted  the  ac- 
cord—Sarcasm perpetrated  by  Don  Carlos  — How  they 
"pacified"  Flanders  and  Tournay. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.      .       .    157 

Valenciennes  invested  —  Merry-making  of  the  citizens— The 
Ostrawall  massacre  —  Excitement  of  spectators  in  Ant- 
werp—The prince  at  the  Red-gate — The  Plaee  de  Meer 
barricaded  —  How  the  three  days  ended  —  Impending  fate 
of  Valenciennes  —  Cannonade  of  the  white  tower— Surren- 
der—Butchery  of  the  citizens. 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DEPARTURE  OF  ORANGE,  AND  COMING  OF  ALVA.  174 
The  Dendermonde  conference  —  The  prince  declines  the  new 
oath  —  Last  interview  between  Egmont  and  Orange  —  The 
prince  quits  the  Netherlands — The  Duke  of  Alva  —  Roman- 
tic incident  of  his  early  life  —  Approach  of  the  army  —What 
the  duke  had  been  commissioned  to  do. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  SEIGNIORS  ARRESTED 189 

How  Count  Horn  was  enticed  to  Brussels  — Don  Ferdinando's 
dinner-party  —  Mysterious  warnings  —  Council  at  the  Jas- 
Bey  House — The  arrests  —  Alva's  new  tribunal  —  Treason 
defined  —  The  Blood  Council  at  work— Number  of  victims. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  NATION'S  DEATH-WARRANT 205 

Margaret  resigns  the  regency  —  Orange  summoned  by  the 
Council  of  Blood  — Kidnapping  of  the  little  Count  de  Buren 

—  Wholesale  sentence  of  death. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

EXECUTION  OF  EGMONT  AND  HORN 215 

Preparations  for  war —  Count  Louis  in  Friesland  —  Victory  of 
Heiliger    Lee  —  Proceedings    against   Egmont   and  Horn 

—  Sentence  pronounced  —  The  last  night  of  the  condemned 

—  Scenes  of  the  scaffold. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  DUKE'S  NORTHERN  CAMPAIGN 229 

Alva's  first  encounter  with  the  insurgents  —  Retreat  of  Louis 
—Mutinous  spirit  of  his  troops  — Defeat  of  Jemmingen  — 
The  Vrow  Van  Diemen  beheaded  at  Utrecht  —  Antony  Van- 
Straalen  —  Fate  of  "  Red-Rod." 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ORANGE  FOILED 239 

Four  expeditions  planned  —  Disastrous  termination  of  the 
first  three  — Advice  of  William's  German  friends  —  The 
prince  as  a  religious  man  —  The  emperor's  attitude—  "  Jus- 
tification "  published  by  the  prince  — The  campaign  com- 
menced—Crossing theMeuse —  Fate  of  Hoogstraaten  — The 
campaign  fruitless  —  Alva's  self-glorification  —  The  archduke 
sent  to  Madrid  — Matrimonial  complications. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE  DUKE  TRIES  FINANCIERING 256 

Story  of  Dirk  Willemzoon^-The  jeweled  hat  and  sword  — 
Philip's  embarrassments  —  The  river  of  gold  drying  up  —  The 
duke's  pet  scheme  of  taxation  —  General  excitement  — 
Utrecht  stubborn  —  Proclamation  of  amnesty  —  A  royal 
tragedy  privately  performed  —  Inundation  of  Friesland. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  "SPECTACLES"  STOLEN 271 

Secret  correspondence  —  Straitened  circumstances  of  the 
prince  —  Renewed  agitation  about  the  tenth-penny  tax  — 
Business  suspended  —  Stringent  measures  resolved  upon  — 
Alva's  late  quarrel  with  Queen  Elizabeth  —  De  la  Marck  be- 
fore Brill —  Capture  of  the  city  —  Alva's  wrath  —  The  carica- 
ture of  the  spectacles  —  Bossu's  unsuccessful  attempt  to  re- 
cover Brill. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

SUNSHINE  AND  STORM 289 

Sudden  success  —  Mons  occupied  by  Count  Louis— News  of 
the  massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew— Surrender  of  Mona 
—  Sack  of  Mechlin  —Massacre  of  Zutphen  and  Naarden. 


10  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

FALL  OF  HARLEM 303 

Location  and  importance  of  the  city  —  The  Dutch  amazons 

—  Unsuccessful  attempts  to  send  relief  —  First  general  assault 

—  Novel  weapons    of    defense  —  Mines   and  countermines 

—  Midnight  attack  —  Ravelin  blown  up  —  Famine  at  hand  — 
John  Haring  on  the  Diemerdyk —  Command  of  the  lake  lost 

—  Extremity  of  the  famine  —  Desperate  resolve  of  the  citizens 

—  Fall  of  the  city  —  Composure  of  the  prince  in  time  of  de- 
feat. 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

ALKMAAR  SAVED.  .    <• 323 

The  city  invested  —  William's  reliance  upon  God  —  Dangerous 
expedition  of  Peter  Van  der  Mey  —  Repeated  assaults- 
Abandonment  of  the  siege —  John  Haring's  last  exploit  — 
Renewal  of  negotiations  with  France  —  Philip's  secret  ambi- 
tion— Aims  of  Orange  —  Alva's  departure  from  the  Nether- 
lands. 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

DEATH  OF  COUNT  LOUIS 338 

The  new  governor-general — Naval  battle  of  Bergen-op-Zoom 

—  Count  Louis  threatens  Maestricht  —  Unsuccessful  maneu- 
vers—Battle of  Mookerheyde  —  The  last  charge  —  Character 
of  Louis  of  Nassau. 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

SIEGE  OF  LEYDEN 346 

Description  of  the  city  —  Forces  of  besiegers  and  besieged  — 
Offer  of  amnesty  —  The  last  resort  —  Breaking  the  dikes  — 
Sickness  of  the  prince — Boisot's  expedition  —  Distress  of 
the  citizens  —The  ancient  tower  —  Heroic  firmness  of  the 
burgomaster  —  The  tempest  —  The  last  night — Leyden  saved 
—  Founding  of  the  university. 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

CAPTURE  OF  SCHOUWEN 365 

Secret  negotiations  — Government  of  Holland  and  Zealand 
assumed  by  Orange  —  Breda  conferences  —  Third  marriage 
of  the  prince  —  Scheme  for  recovering  Schouwen  —  The  mid- 
night march  through  the  sea  —  Fall  of  the  capital. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  "ANTWERP  FURY." 378 

Custom  of  mutiny  in  Spanish  armies  — The  interregnum  — 
Alost  seized  by  the  mutineers  —  Alarm  in  Brussels  —  Peril 
of  Antwerp  —  The  citadel  threatens  the  city  —  Attempt  to 
fortify  it  —  Arrival  of  the  mutineers  —  The  attack  —  The 
last  struggle  —  Anecdotes  of  the  massacre. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  GHENT  PACIFICATION 397 

Attempt  to  secure  a  union  of  all  the  states  — The  congress  of 
Ghent  —The  treaty  signed  —  Recovery  of  Schouwen  —  Early 
history  of  Don  John  of  Austria  —  His  romantic  character  — 
Conference  with  the  deputies  —  Union  of  Brussels  —  The 
"  Perpetual  Edict "  —Attempts  to  bribe  Orange. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

UNEXPECTED  MOVEMENTS 414 

Don  John  recognized  as  governor  — His  impatience  of  the  po- 
sition —  Sudden  seizure  of  Namur —  Orange  invited  to  Brus- 
sels —  The  runaway  archduke  —  Don  John  repudiated  — 
Hostilities  renewed  — How  Amsterdam  was  cleared  of  Ro- 
man Catholic  intriguers  —  Coquetry  of  Elizabeth  —  Negotia- 
tions with  Anjou  —  Embarrassing  position  of  Don  John  — 
Mournful  close  of  his  career. 


12  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  UNION  OF  UTRECHT 434 

Alexander  of  Parma  — Traitors  in  themarket-r-  Alienation  of 
the  Walloon  provinces  from  the  northern  states  —  Union 
formed  at  Utrecht  —  The  Walloons  "  reconciled  "  —  Siege 
and  fall  of  Maestricht. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

INDEPENDENCE  DECLARED 448 

Conference  of  Cologne  —  Treason  of  de  Bours  and  of  Renne- 
berg — Secret  advances  to  Orange  —  Schemes  for  his  assas- 
sination —  The  prince  placed  under  the  ban  —  The  celebrat- 
ed "  Apology"  — Act  of  abjuration. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CONSPIRACIES  AND  CRIMES 461 

Attempt  of  Jaureguy  —The  assassin  and  accomplices  —  Criti- 
cal condition  of    the  prince  —  His  final  recovery — Death 
of  the  princess  —  Anjou's  "muzzle  "  inconvenient  —  His  at- 
tempt upon  the  cities— The  "French  Fury  "  — Death  of 
Anjou. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE  ASSASSINATION 472 

Previous  attempts  to  take  the  prince's  life  —  Residence  at 
Delft  — Balthazar  Gerard  — The  deed  done  — Last  words  of 
the  prince  —His  burial  —  Conclusion. 


u'ltiuli'  Kn>l  t'p.in  (iri'i-nwii'li. 


IE    NETHERLANDS. 


WILLIAM  THE  SILENT 

AND 

THE   NETHEELAND    WAR. 
CHAPTER  I. 

THE   SCENE    OF    THE   STORY. 

f»HE  love  of  liberty  runs  in  the  Anglo- 
y  l  Saxon  blood.  We  Americans  have  it  as 
y$  an  inherited  trait.  It  grows  only  the 
more  marked*  and  irrepressible  as  generations 
go  by ;  just  as  streams  are  wont  to  flow  with 
fuller  and  deeper  current  as  they  approach  the 
sea.  It  is  worth  while  to  trace  it  back  a  little 
way  ;  for  it  was  not  always  the  great,  tranquil, 
majestic  river  on  which  we  now  gaze.  Farther 
up,  we  shall  find  it  a  wild  mountain  torrent, 
dashing  and  foaming  among  the  rocks  that  hem 

13 


14  WILLIAM   THE   SILEtfT. 

it  in,  and  making  headlong  leaps  over  the  bar- 
riers it  can  not  sweep  away. 

The  long  struggle  carried  on  by  the  people 
of  the  Netherlands  against  the  despotism  of 
Philip  II.  and  the  Inquisition  has  had  not  a 
little  to  do  with  our  own  national  history.  Our 
forefathers  took  heart  to  fight  for  liberty  here 
because  theirs  had  done  the  like  in  England, 
in  the  preceding  century ;  and  the  brave  Hol- 
landers had  set  the  example,  a  hundred  years 
before  that.  As  Motley  has  observed,  the  so- 
called  revolutions  of  the  Netherlands,  England, 
and  America  are  all  links  of  one  chain.  In 
our  day,  another  still  has  been  added ;  for,  no 
longer  content  with  freedom  for  our  own  race 
merely,  we  have  given  it  also  to  the  slave. 

It  was  just  three  hundred  years  ago  that  the 
great  contest  between  the  Netherlands  and 
Spain  was  begun.  At  that  time,  the  population 
of  the  Low  Countries  numbered  three  millions, 
the  same  as  that  of  the  American  colonies  at 
the  commencement  of  our  own  Revolution. 
Their  entire  territory*,  however,  was  less  than 
that  embraced  in  the  three  States  of  Vermont, 


THE   SCENE    OF   THE   STORY.  15 

New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts.  Much  of 
this  narrow  domain  consisted  of  land  reclaimed 
from  the  sea.  It  had  been  preserved  and  made 
habitable  only  by  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and 
expense.  Immense  dikes  were  required  to  de- 
fend its  low,  flat  shores  from  the  invasions  of 
the  ocean.  These  dikes,  lying  one  within  an- 
other in  successive  lines,  fortified  the  whole 
coast ;  they  girdled  the  numerous  islands  ;  they 
stretched  along  on  either  side  of  the  rivers,  to 
prevent  their  overflow.  Many  of  them  were 
from  seventy  to  more  than  one  hundred  feet  in 
thickness  at  the  base,  and  forty  feet  in  bight, 
reckoning  from  low-water  mark.  At  the  top, 
they  were  broad  enough  to  form  excellent  car- 
riage-roads. Of  course  the  cost  of  this  vast 
system  of  defenses  was  enormous.  It  is  said 
that  two  dikes  on  the  island  of  Walcheren  alone 
require  an  outlay  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  a 
year.  They  are  built  somewhat  like  a  wharf, 
of  huge  timbers,  or  sometimes  of  bundles  of 
'  trees  which  are  cultivated  for  the  purpose, 
filled  in  with  great  blocks  of  stone  brought  from 
Norway.     They  are  often  covered  with  soil,  and 


16  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

crowned  with  willows.  In  spite  of  all  possible 
pains,  however,  inundations  sometimes  occur, 
which  deluge  vast  tracts  of  country,  and  occa- 
sion immense  destruction  of  property  and  life. 

Notwithstanding  this  little  country  has  al- 
ways had  so  much  ado  to  keep  its  head  above 
water,  at  the  time  when  our  story  begins  it  had 
already  grown  fair  and  rich  through  the  enter- 
prise and  industry  of  its  inhabitants.  Its  manu- 
factures and  its  commerce  were  immense.  Its 
cities  numbered  not  less  than  three  hundred 
and  fifty  ;  and  there  were  six  or  seven  thousand 
large  towns  besides. 

There  were  seventeen  of  the  Netherland 
provinces,  each  in  a  great  measure  independent 
of  the  rest,  and  possessing  statutes  and  privi- 
leges of  its  own.  They  all  acknowledged  the 
same  hereditary  sovereign,  however,  though 
under  different  titles.  Thus  the  ruler  was 
"Count  of  Holland,"  "Duke  of  Brabant," 
"  Marquis  of  Antwerp,"  and  so  on.  If  ever 
called  king,  it  was  because,  like  Philip  of  Spain, 
he  was  king  of  some  other  realm.  The  power 
of  the  sovereign  was  more  or  less  limited  by  the 


THE    SCENE    OF    THE   STORY.  17 

charters  of  privileges  possessed  by  the  several 
states,  to  which  he  was  obliged  to  swear  fidelity 
on  assuming  the  government. 

The  seventeen  provinces  were  further  united 
by  having  a  kind  of  congress,  called  the  "  es- 
tates-general." To  this  body  deputies  were 
sent  from  each  state.  They  were  elected,  how- 
ever, not  by  the  people,  but  either  by  certain 
cities  and  corporations,  or  by  privileged  classes, 
as  the  nobles  and  the  clergy.  The  chief  busi- 
ness of  the  estates-general  was  to  grant,  or  to 
refuse,  the  pecuniary  supplies  which  were  re- 
quested either  by  their  sovereign  in  person,  or 
by  his  stadth older.  Upon  the  whole,  the  Neth- 
erlands enjoyed  a  greater  measure  of  political 
freedom  than  almost  any  other  country  pos- 
sessed at  that  day.  Such  as  it  was,  they  were 
well  content ;  and  might  they  have  kept  undis- 
puted the  privileges  their  ancient  charters  gave 
them,  they  would  have  asked  no  more. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
a  certain  duke  of  Burgundy,  called  Philip  the 
Good,  contrived  to  make  himself  master  of  the 
principal  Netherland  states,  partly  by  inherit- 


18  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

ance,  partly  by  purchase,  and  partly  by  usur- 
pation. His  son,  Charles  the  Bold,  having  no 
male  heir,  left  his  broad  domains  to  his  only 
daughter,  the  Lady  Mary  ;  and  by  her  mar- 
riage to  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  provinces  was  transferred  from 
the  house  of  Burgundy  to  that  of  Austria. ,  In 
1496,  the  son  of  Maximilian,  Philip  the  Fair, 
married  Joanna  of  Castile,  the  only  child  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella.  Of  this  marriage  was  born 
the  celebrated  Charles  V.,  who  was  thus  heir 
both  to  the  Netherland  possessions  and  to  Spain. 
In  addition  to  the  titles  of  Count  of  Holland, 
and  King  of  Spain,  Sicily,  and  Jerusalem,  he 
was  styled  Duke  of  Milan,  Emperor  of  Germa- 
ny, and  Dominator  in  Asia  and  Africa ;  all 
which,  together  with  his  vast  possessions  on  the 
newly-discovered  American  continent,  made  him 
virtually  autocrat  of  half  the  world. 

Thus  the  Netherlands  became  entangled 
with  Spain  to  a  degree  which  was  to  prove  suf- 
ficiently disastrous  to  both  countries.  The  two 
nations,  in  all  their  tastes,  habits,  and  senti- 
ments, were  as  unlike  as  they  well  could  be. 


THE   SCENE    OF    THE   STORY.  19 

Naturally  enough,  the  Dutch  did  not  fancy  the 
Spaniards  at  all ;  neither  did  the  Spaniards  like 
the  Dutch  any  better.  It  was  decidedly  disa- 
greeable for  the  latter  people,  rich  and  flourish- 
ing as  they  were,  to  find  themselves  regarded 
as  a  humble  dependency  of  Spain.  Yet  it 
probably  would  not  have  occurred  to  them  that 
they  could  do  otherwise  than  endure  their  lot 
with  patience,  but  for  the  religious  and  politi- 
cal oppression  which  was  now  becoming  so 
grievous. 

The  Reformation  had  already  dawned.  Its 
light  was  rousing  the  world  from  a  sleep  of 
ages.  Men  were  learning  that  they  could  think 
and  act  for  themselves.  Neither  priests  nor 
kings  could  longer  fetter  the  soul.  The  world's 
history  records  no  protest  against  tyranny  more 
emphatic  than  the  great  conflict  through  which 
the  Netherlands  broke  their  chains. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    YOUTH  OF   THE   PRINCE. 

ppHE  Netherlands  had  their  Washington. 
SSg  The  hero  of  their  great  struggle  was 
fe>  William  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange, 
who  was  also  called  "  William  the  Silent." 
The  history  of  this  great  and  good  man  is  in- 
deed the  history  of  the  contest.  He  was  not 
only  its  leader,  but  almost  its  very  soul.  Every- 
thing fte  possessed  was  sacrificed  for  its  sake  ; 
and  upon  the  sacred  altar  of  freedom  he  finally 
yielded  up  his  life.  Such  a  story  is  worthy  to 
be  remembered  for  ever. 

Nassau  is  the  name  of  a  small  German 
duchy  lying  between  the  states  of  Rhenish 
Prussia  and  those  of  Hesse.  It  contains  not  far 
from  two  thousand  square  miles  of  territory  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  it  is  about  half  as  large 

again  as  our  own  Rhode  Island.     On  the  west- 
20 


THE    YOUTH   OF   THE   PRINCE.  21 

ern  side  flows  the  Rhine,  while  the  Main  bounds 
it  on  the  south,  and  the  Lahn  passes  through 
the  central  portion  of  the  province.  The  coun- 
try is  somewhat  mountainous,  and  the  scenery 
is  very  picturesque.  The  climate  is  healthful, 
and  in  general  the  soil  is  good  for  farming. 
Grapes  are  much  cultivated  along  the  Rhine, 
and  the  wines  of  Nassau  are  famous  every- 
where. 

The  ancestors  of  William  had  been  sovereigns 
of  Nassau  for  six  hundred  years.  Adolphus  of 
Nassau,  a  member  of  the  elder  branch  of  the 
family,  near  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century 
was  emperor  of  Germany.  The  younger  branch, 
from  which  William  was  descended,  meanwhile 
acquired  extensive  possessions  in  the  Low 
Countries,  in  addition  to  their  German  estates. 

The  principality  of  Orange  had  recently  been 
left  to  William  by  his  cousin,  Rene  de  Nassau- 
Chalons,  who  died  in  1544,  without  children  of 
his  own.  It  lay  within  the  territories  of  the 
French  king,  yet  was  altogether  independent  of 
his  authority.  The  town  of  Orange  may  still 
be  found,  in  the  southern  part  of  France,  thir- 


22  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

teen  miles  north  of  Avignon,  on  the  road  from 
Paris  to  Marseilles.  It  is  in  the  province  of 
Vaucluse,  and  gives  name  to  a  surrounding 
district,  now  called  an  arrondissement.  The 
ancient  principality  of  Orange,  however,  was 
not  much  larger  than  two  ordinary  townships 
of  New  England.  Yet,  since  the  authority  of 
its  sovereign  was  absolute,  there  was  no  small 
responsibility  in  governing  this  little  country. 
The  well-being  of  its  inhabitants,  and  even  their 
very  lives,  depended  almost  entirely  upon  their 
prince.  If  he  were  a  bad  man,  he  might  easily 
make  his  people  wish  they  had  never  been  born. 
So  much  for  the  titles  William  had  inherited. 
Why  he  was  called  "  the  Silent,"  will  be  more 
fully  explained  hereafter.  At  present  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  it  was  by  no  means  because 
he  was  less  social  than  other" people. 

It  was  at  Dillenburg,  the  ancient  seat  of  the 
family,  in  the  northern  part  of  Nassau,  that 
William  was  born.  This  was  in  the  year  1533. 
His  mother,  Juliana  of  Stolberg,  was  a  most 
excellent  Christian  woman.  His  father,  also, 
was  a  Protestant,  and  aided  the  Reformation  in 


THE    YOUTH  OF   THE   PRINCE.  23 

his  domains.  There  was  a  numerous  family  of 
sons  and  daughters,  and  they  were  trained  up 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  Motley  tells  us  that 
"  there  still  exist  most  tender  and  touching  let- 
ters from  the  mother's  own  pen,  written  to  her 
illustrious  sons  in  hours  of  anxiety  or  anguish, 
in  which,  with  the  same  earnest  simplicity  as 
when  they  were  little  children  at  her  knee,  she 
bids  them  rely  always  upon  God." 

When  the  young  William  of  Nassau,  at  the 
age  of  eleven  years,  was  unexpectedly  made 
heir  to  his  cousin's  estates  in  France,  it  was 
thought  necessary  that  he  should  be  educated 
in  the  court  at  Brussels.  We  may  imagine  the 
tender  solicitude  of  his  pious  mother,  as  she 
parted  with  her  eldest  boy.  She  well  knew  that 
the  destiny  which  looked  so  dazzling  was  full 
of  dangers.  According  to  the  customs  of  that 
day,  the  youthful  prince  became  a  page  in  the 
emperor's  household.  Pages  were  expected  to  be 
expert  in  whatever  exercises  would  make  them 
strong,  agile,  and  graceful.  They  always  learned 
horsemanship,  and  the  use  of  various  weapons  ; 
they  practiced    polite    accomplishments,    and 


24  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

strove  to  excel  in  music,  conversation,  and 
whatever  might  assist  them  to  entertain  the 
noble  guests  of  the  family  with  ease  and  grace. 
Doubtless  the  young  prince  had  also  masters  in 
the  languages  ;  for,  during  his  busy  public  life, 
he  used  to  speak  and  write  the  French,  Latin, 
and  Spanish  with  facility,  as  well  as  Flemish 
and  Dutch. 

The  emperor  was  not  long  in  discovering 
that  the  bright,  fair  boy,  whom  everybody  loved 
and  praised,  was  "  grave  and  wise  of  heart  be- 
yond his  childish  years."  He  kept  the  young 
prince  almost  constantly  with  him,  and  treated 
him  with  distinguished  favor  and  confidence. 
Even  when  he  was  holding  conferences  with  emi- 
nent personages  upon  weighty  affairs,  Charles 
would  not  suffer  the  boy  to  be  sent  away  ;  for  he 
was  sure  his  young  favorite  might  be  trusted 
with  any  secret  whatever.  Doubtless  this  early 
experience  was  very  useful  in  preparing  him  for 
the  difficult  part  he  was  afterward  to  perform. 
Before  he  became  a  man,  he  had  learned  not  a 
little  about  the*  secret  machinery  of  courts. 
Masks  and  draperies  and  puppets  could  not  de- 


THE    YOUTH   OF   THE   PRINCE.  25 

hide  one  who  understood  how  things  went  on 
behind  the  scenes. 

The  young  Prince  of  Orange  was  not  yet 
twenty-one,  when  the  emperor  sent  him  to  take 
charge  of  his  army  on  the  French  frontier,  in 
the  absence  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  notwith- 
standing several  most  distinguished  generals 
wanted  the  honorable  appointment  for  them- 
selves. William  discharged  the  duties  of  this 
difficult  position  so- faithfully  that  the  empe- 
ror's confidence  in  him  was  fully  justified. 

In  1551,  the  young  favorite  of  Charles  V. 
married  Anne  of  Egmont,  daughter  of  the 
celebrated  general,  Count  de  Buren.  As  she 
was  the  greatest  heiress  in  the  country,  the 
immense  possessions  of  the  prince  were  thus 
largely  increased.  His  residence  was  now  the 
stately  palace  of  the  Nassau  family  at  Brussels ; 
and  his  style  of  living  was  almost  royal  in  its 
magnificence.  Not  less  than  twenty-four  no- 
blemen, and  eighteen  pages  of  gentle  blood, 
held  office  in  his  household,  and  the  ordinary 
domestics  were  numerous  enough  to  make 
something  of  a  little  army.     It  is  related  that 


26  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

once,  when  it  was  thought  advisable  to  retrench 
a  little,  twenty-eight  master-cooks  were  dis- 
missed in  a  single  day.  There  was  a  continual 
throng  of  guests,  who  were  so  hospitably  wel- 
comed, and  so  royally  entertained,  that  they 
liked  to  come  often  and  stay  long.  The  win- 
ning address  and  gracious  air  of  the  prince  fas- 
cinated every  one,  whether  high-born  or  lowly. 
A  Catholic  historian  quoted  by  Motley  declares 
that  never  did  an  arrogant  or  indiscreet  word 
fall  from  his  lips.  "  Upon  no  occasion  did  he 
manifest  anger  to  his  servants,  however  much 
they  might  be  in  fault,  but  contented  himself 
with  admonishing  them  graciously,  without 
menace  or  insult.  He  had  a  gentle  and  agree- 
able tongue,  with  which  he  could  turn  all  the 
gentlemen  at  court  any  way  he  liked.  He  was 
beloved  and  honored  by  the  whole  community." 
In  this  splendid  way  of  living,  with  banquets 
and  tournaments  to  fill  up  the  intervals  of  his 
public  duties,  William  of  Orange  passed  his 
early  manhood.  He  conformed  to  the  religion 
of  the  court,  notwithstanding  the  Protestant 
training   of    his    infancy.     It   seems   doubtful 


THE    YOUTH   OF   THE   PRINCE.  27 

whether,  at  this  period,  lie  cared  much  for  re- 
ligion of  any  sort.  He  had  not  yet  learned  to 
look  above  and  beyond  this  world. 

In  1555,  the  imposing  spectacle  of  the 
emperor's  abdication  took  place  at  Brussels. 
Worn  out  by  the  cares  of  government,  as  well 
as  by  protracted  ill-health,  Charles  V.  had  de- 
termined to  resign  his  vast  dominions  to  his 
son  Philip,  and  to  retire  for  ever  from  public 
life.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  October,  an  im- 
mense assembly  had  gathered  in  the  great  hall 
of  the  ducal  palace  to  witness  the  solemn  cere- 
mony. To  see  a  monarch  voluntarily  taking 
off  his  crown  and  giving  it  away  has  always 
been  rather  a  rare  sight,  and,  in  the  present 
case,  the  people  crowded  to  witness  it  with  min- 
gled curiosity  and  awe.  It  seemed  almost  as 
if  they  were  going  to  their  sovereign's  funeral. 
They  knew  that  they  were  to  see  him  no  more 
among  them  ;  and  already  they  began  to  look 
with  softened  feelings  upon  his  past  career,  as 
we  remember  the  acts  of  one  who  is  dead. 

The  emperor  had  a  remarkable  tact  for  ar- 
ranging great  public  spectacles  so  as  to  produce 


28  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  happiest  effect ;  and  he  had  taken  especial 
pains  that  everything  connected  with  this  clos- 
ing scene  of  his  public  life  should  be  grand  and 
solemn.  The  great  hall  was  hung  with  the 
richest  tapestry,  and  adorned  with  flowers.  At 
one  end  there  was  a  spacious  platform,  raised 
six  or  seven  steps  above  the  floor ;  and  in  the 
center  of  it  three  gilded  chairs,  overhung  by  a 
magnificent  canopy,  indicated  the  places  to  be 
occupied  by  the  royal  actors  in  the  grand 
ceremony.  There  were  rows  of  tapestried  seats 
upon  the  right  and  left  and  in  the  rear  of  the 
stage,  which  were  reserved  for  the  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Fleece,  the  members  of  the  councils, 
and  other  distinguished  persons.  The  deputies 
of  the  seventeen  provinces,  constituting  the  es- 
tates-general, were  already  seated  upon  the 
benches  below,  some  wearing  the  robes  of  office, 
some  in  splendid  civic  uniforms.  The  rest  of 
the  hall  was  crowded  to  the  utmost  by  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  archers  and  halberdiers  guarded 
the  doors. 

All  was  now  ready,  and  the  appointed  mo- 
ment had  arrived.     Just  as  the  clock  struck 


THE    YOUTH   OF    THE   PRINCE.  29 

three,  the  doors  of  the  chapel  beyond  were 
opened,  and  the  emperor  advanced,  leaning,  in 
his  feebleness,  upon  the  shoulder  of  William  of 
Orange.  Philip  followed,  with  his  aunt,  Queen 
Mary  of  Hungary.  Then  came  the  Archduke 
Maximilian,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  a  brilliant 
train  of  nobles  and  officers  of  the  court.  The 
emperor  seated  himself  beneath  the  canopy, 
with  his  sister  and  his  son  on  either  side  ;  and 
the  vast  assembly,  who  had  risen  at  his  en- 
trance, were  bidden  to  resume  their  places. 

A  member  of  the  privy  council  now  came  for- 
ward, and  delivered  an  oration  setting  forth  the 
various  reasons  which  led  the  emperor  to  re- 
sign his  throne,  as  well  as  the  eminent  qualifi- 
cations of  the  son  who  was  about  to  succeed 
him.  The  long  harangue  at  last  concluded 
with  a  solemn  exhortation  to  Philip  strenuously 
to  maintain  the  Catholic  faith.  Then  the  coun- 
cilor read  aloud  the  formal  deed,  by  which  "  all 
the  duchies,  marquisates,  earldoms,  baronies, 
cities,  towns,  and  castles  "  of  the  Burgundian 
realms,  including  the  seventeen  Netherlands, 
of  course,  were  ceded  to  Philip. 


30  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

The  immense  audience  was  deeply  moved, 
and  amid  low  murmurs  of  mingled  admiration 
and  regret  the  emperor  rose.  He  looked 
aged,  as  well  as  feeble,  though  he  was  only  fif- 
ty-five years  old.  He  had  once  possessed  a 
fine,  athletic  figure ;  but  he  was  now  crippled 
by  the  gout,  from  which  he  had  suffered  greatly 
for  years.  Supporting  himself  by  a  crutch,  he 
beckoned  the  Prince  of  Orange  again  to  his 
side,  that  he  might  lean  upon  his  shoulder. 
The  prince  was  at  this  time  a  tall,  handsome 
young  man  of  twenty-two,  with  dark  brown 
hair  and  beard,  a  broad,  high  forehead,  full, 
dark,  thoughtful  eyes,  and  the  stately  bearing 
which  became  a  grandee  of  the  realm.  The 
emperor  now  addressed  the  States,  assisting  his 
memory  by  notes  which  he  held  in  his  hand. 
He  declared  that  during  the  whole  of  his  reign 
it  had  been  his  endeavor  to  perform  his  duty  as 
a  faithful  and  just  sovex'eign,  in  promoting  the 
good  of  his  people,  and  the  security  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  ;  and  he  exhorted  his 
son,  who  was  now  to  assume  the  authority,  to 
adhere  to  the  same  course.     Finally,  he  begged 


THE    YOUTH   OF    THE   PRINCE.  31 

the  people  to  pardon  any  errors  he  might  have 
committed  toward  them,  and  assured  them  of 
his  constant  remembrance  in  that  pious  retire- 
ment to  which  he  should  devote  the  rest  of  his 
days.  Overcome  by  emotion,  as  he  closed  his 
speech  he  sank  into  his  chair,  pale  and  almost 
fainting,  and  wept  like  a  child.  The  vast  as- 
sembly, profoundly  moved  by  the  scene,  could 
not  restrain  their  own  tears. 

Then  Philip,  a  small,  thin,  sickly-looking 
man,  with  an  air  of  constraint  and  embarrass- 
ment that  was  habitual,  rose  to  perform  his 
part  in  the  ceremony.  Though  his  manner 
was  usually  cold  and  haughty,  he  seemed  al- 
most softened  by  the  pathos  of  the  scene,  as  he 
knelt  to  kiss  his  father's  hand  and  receive  his 
blessing.  Being  unable  to  express  himself 
either  in  French  or  Flemish,  he  had  the  Bishop 
of  Arras  make  an  oration  in  his  name.  The 
bishop  was  a  very  competent  person  for  any- 
thing in  that  line,  and  set  forth,  at  great 
length  and  with  much  eloquence,  the  gratitude 
of  Philip  to  his  father,  and  his  intention  to 
take  pattern  from  the  emperor's  illustrious  ex- 


32  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ample.  A  member  of  the  council  replied  in 
behalf  of  the  estates-general,  in  very  elegant  and 
complimentary  terms.  After  Queen  Mary  of 
Hungary  had  resigned  her  office  of  regent, 
which  she  had  held  for  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  and  had  been  profusely  complimented  in 
her  turn,  the  ceremonies  closed.  The  empe- 
ror retired,  supported  as  before  by  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  and  followed  by  the  new  sovereign 
and  the  dignitaries  of  the  court. 

Thus  the  Netherlands  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Philip  II.  A  month  later,  the  kingdom  of 
Spain,  with  its  vast  possessions  in  America  and 
elsewhere,  was  made  over  to  him  in  a  private 
manner.  The  imperial  crown  of  Germany  was 
sent  to  Charles's  brother,  Ferdinand,  by  the 
hand  of  William  of  Orange.  In  the  course  Of  a 
year  from  the  abdication  at  Brussels,  Charles 
V.  had  divested  himself  of  all  his  dignities,  and 
had  gone  into  a  Spanish  monastery  for  the  rest  of 
his  days.  Meanwhile,  in  the  Netherlands  there 
was  preparing  a  tragedy  longer  and  bloodier 
than  the  world  had  ever  seen  before.  Of  the 
stately  grandees  who  moved  upon  that  tapes- 


THE    YOUTH   OF   THE   PRINCE.  33 

tried  stage  in  the  ducal  palace,  there  were  few 
who  were  not  destined  to  fall  by  the  hand  of 
violence.  Some  were  to  perish  on  battle-fields, 
some  on  public  scaffolds,  some  by  the  weapons 
of  secret  assassins.  And  among  the  vast  mul- 
titude of  spectators  who  thronged  the  great 
hall  on  that  memorable  day,  doubtless  a  pro- 
phetic eye  might  have  marked  many  a  humble 
Christian,  whose  name  was  shortly  to  be  en- 
rolled in  "  the  noble  army  of  the  martyrs." 
There  were  thousands  of  men  in  the  Nether- 
lands, nay,  there  were  women  and  even  chil- 
dren too,  who  were  soon  to  die  at  the  stake, 
rather  than  deny  their  faith. 


CHAPTER    III 


A   SECRET  DISCOVERED. 


^HILE  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  still  a 
young  man,  he  made  a  very  surprising 
^§F  an(^  important  discovery.  It  happened 
thus :  — 
For  several  years  a  war  had  been  going  on 
between  France  and  Spain.  Its  principal  seat 
was  in  that  part  of  France  adjacent  to  the  Low 
Countries.  At  various  times  during  its  contin- 
uance, the  Prince  of  Orange  had  commanded 
the  Spanish  forces  ;  and  when  at  last  both  mon- 
arclis  had  become  tired  of  the  war,  he  was  one 
of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  make  peace. 
The  treaty  was  signed  at  Cateau-Cambresis,  in 
April,  1559.  By  its  terms  King  Henry  II.,  of 
France,  was  bound  to  restore  all  the  cities  and 
other  possessions  wrested  from  Spain  during 
the    preceding   eight  years,  and   to  give    his 

34 


A    SECRET  DISCOVERED.  35 

daughter  Isabella  in  marriage  to  Philip,  whose 
second  wife,  Queen  Mary  of  England,  had  re- 
cently died.  These  conditions  were  to  be  ful- 
filled within  three  months ;  after  which  the 
King  of  Spain,  on  his  part,  was  to  restore  what- 
ever he  and  his  father  had  taken  from  the 
French.  Meanwhile,  Henry  was  to  retain  as 
hostages  any  four  nobles  whom  he  might  choose 
from  Philip's  subjects.  He  selected,  according- 
ly, three  Netherland  grandees,  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  the  Count  of  Egmont,  and  the  Duke 
of  Aerschot,  and  one  Spanish  nobleman,  the 
Duke  of  Alva.  We  shall  become  familiar  with 
all  four  of  these  eminent  personages  in  the 
course  of  our  narrative. 

Thus  the  early  summer  of  1559  was  spent  by 
"William  as  a  hostage  at  the  court  of  France. 
One  day  he  was  hunting  with  King  Henry  and 
many  noblemen  of  the  royal  household  in  the 
forest  of  Vincennes,  which  lies  four  or  five 
miles  east  of  Paris.  In  the  course  of  their 
sport,  the  king  and  the  prince  chanced  to  be 
alone  together  ;  and  Henry  took  occasion  to 
speak  of  a  secret  project  which  both  Philip  and 


36  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

himself  had  much  at  heart.  Indeed,  the  great 
reason  why  they  had  both  been  so  impatient 
to  conclude  peace  was  that  they  might  be  at 
leisure  to  undertake  this  more  congenial,  as 
well  as  more  weighty,  enterprise. 

"  You  know,"  continued  the  king,  in  sub- 
stance, "  that  heresy  is  increasing  at  a  fright- 
ful rate  in  my  realms,  as  well  as  in  those  of  his 
Majesty  of  Spain,  and,  perhaps,  in  all  the  rest 
of  the  world  also.  My  conscience  will  never  be 
easy,  nor  my  throne  secure,  until  I  have  rid  my 
kingdom  of  this  accursed  vermin.  In  truth,  I 
am  continually  in  fear  of  a  revolution  ;  for,  as 
you  see,  a  great  many  personages  of  rank,  and 
even  princes  of  the  blood-royal,  are  tainted  with 
heresy.  The  King  of  Spain  shares  my  senti- 
ments, and  now  that  we  are  about  to  be  united 
in  the  closest  alliance,  we  have  resolved,  by  the 
blessing  of  heaven,  to  blot  out  the  very  name 
of  Protestant  from  our  dominions." 

The  prince  listened  with  profound  attention 
and  perfect  outward  composure,  while  Henry 
went  on  to  disclose  the  details  of  the  royal  plot, 
never  dreaming  that  his   discreet   companion 


A   SECRET  DISCOVERED.  37 

was  not  in  the  secret  already.  They  were  go- 
ing to  make  short  and  sure  work  of  it.  Only 
exterminate  all  the  heretics,  and  of  course  the 
heresy  would  be  exterminated  too.  Everything 
was  to  be  most  carefully  arranged  beforehand  ; 
and  then,  at  the  appointed  signal,  all  the  heretic 
heads  in  both  kingdoms  would  fall  at  one  blow. 
As  to  the  Netherlands,  the  Spanish  troops  sta- 
tioned there  would  of  course  despatch  the  busi- 
ness with  great  zeal.  And  thus,  by  the  simple 
; expedient  of  a  wholesale  massacre,  the  true 
faith  would  be  vindicated,  and  heresy  annihi- 
lated for  ever. 

It  was  in  that  hour,  in  the  wood  of  Vin- 
cennes,  that  William  of  Orange  earned  the  sur- 
name of  "  the  Silent."  It  was  horrible  to* find 
two  great  kings  conspiring  together  to  butcher 
thousands  of  their  unoffending  subjects  ;  but  lie 
had  the  wisdom  to  hold  his  peace.  Not  even  a 
change  of  countenance  betrayed  his  feelings  ; 
and  Henry  never  suspected  that  he  had  revealed 
the  dreadful  plot  to  the  very  man  who  was  born 
to  oppose  it.  The  prince  returned  with  the 
gay  party  from  the  hunt ;  he  mingled  as  usual 


38  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

in  the  brilliant  scenes  of  the  court ;  but  his 
thoughts  were  full  of  the  terrible  secret  he  had 
found  out  in  the  wood  of  Yincennes. 

Orange  was  at  this  time  a  Roman  Catholic, 
so  far  as  he  professed  to  be  religious  at  all. 
Yet  it  seemed  to  him  a  stupendous  crime  to 
put  people  to  death  for  holding  a  different  faith. 
He  could  not  forget  the  Protestant  home  of  his 
childhood,  away  beyond  the  Rhine,  and  the 
pious  parents  from  whose  lips  he  had  heard  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  And  his  native  kindness  of  i 
heart,  too,  was  shocked  at  thought  of  the  blood- 
shed and  misery  with  which  the  two  kings  pro- 
posed to  deluge  their  dominions.  He  was  not 
long  resolving  that  whatever  he  could  do  to 
prevent  it  should  be  done,  no  matter  how  great 
the  risk  to  himself. 

After  a  few  days,  he  requested  leave  to  visit 
the  Netherlands.  There  he  used  all  his  influ- 
ence to  stir  up  the  people  to  demand  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Spanish  troops.  It  was  not  a 
hard  matter  ;  for  the  lawless  soldiery  had  given 
them  reason  to  hate  the  very  sight  of  a  Spanish 
uniform.     Such  was  their  cruelty  and  rapacity 


A   SECRET  DISCOVERED.  39 

that  no  worse  infliction  could  befall  a  town  than 
to  have  a  regiment  quartered  upon  its  inhab- 
itants. 

Philip  had  hitherto  resided  in  Brussels  since 
becoming  the  sovereign  of  the  Netherlands ; 
but  he  was  now  on  the  eve  of  returning  to 
Spain,  in  order  to  espouse  the  Princess  Isabella 
of  France,  according  to  the  new  treaty.  His 
half-sister,  Margaret  of  Parma,  had  been  ap- 
pointed regent ;  and  she  was  to  be  assisted  by 
a  council  of  state,  a  privy-council,  and  a  board 
of  finance.  There  were  also  stadtholders,  or 
governors,  appointed  to  administer  the  affairs 
of  the  various  provinces.  Orange  was  stadt- 
holder  of  Holland,  Zealand,  and  Utrecht,  while 
Egmont,  Berghen,  Montigny,  and  other  great 
lords,  managed  the  internal  affairs  of  the  re- 
maining provinces. 

Shortly  before  the  king's  departure,  he  con- 
vened the  states-general  to  receive  his  final  in- 
structions. They  assembled,  with  much  pomp 
and  display,  at  Ghent,  on  the  7th  of  August, 
1559.  The  Bishop  of  Arras,  afterward  known 
as  Cardinal  Granvelle,  addressed  them  on  that 


40  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

occasion  in  the  name  of  the  king.  Besides 
setting  forth  the  manner  in  which  public  affairs 
were  to  be  conducted  during  the  king's  absence, 
the  royal  message  strongly  insisted  on  two 
points.  The  first  was  a  '*  request "  for  three 
millions  of  gold  florins,  every  stiver  of  which 
handsome  sum  was  of  course  to  be  devoted  to 
the  good  of  the  provinces  themselves.  The 
other  point  related  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion.  It  was  his  majesty's 
command  that  "  the  edicts  and  decrees  made 
by  the  emperor,  and  renewed  by  himself,  for 
the  extirpation  of  all  sects  and  heresies,  should 
be  accurately  and  exactly  enforced."  The 
speech  contained  not  a  word  about  removing 
the  foreign  troops,  nor  about  reducing  the 
taxes,  under  both  which  grievances  the  land 
had  been  groaning  for  a  long  while. 

The  deputies  asked  time  to  consider  the  royal 
message ;  and  they  assembled  in  presence  of 
the  king  on  the  following  day  to  present  their 
respective  answers.  That  of  the  province  of 
Artois  was  read  first.  It  was  very  loyal  and 
dutiful,  so  far  as  promising   its   share  of  the 


A    SECRET  DISCOVERED.  41 

three  millions  was  concerned ;  but  it  closed, 
much  to  Philip's  wrath,  by  asking  in  return 
that  the  foreign  troops  should  be  sent  away 
forthwith.  The  other  provinces  took  the  same 
course.  They  had  all  voted  the  appropriation 
desired,  but  only  on  condition  that  the  Spanish 
troops  should  first  quit  the  country.  There  was 
besides  a  formal  remonstrance  in  the  name  of 
the  states-general,  which  was  signed  by  Orange, 
Egmont,  and  many  other  nobles.  This  docu- 
ment set  forth  the  infamous  conduct  and  intol- 
erable burden  of  the  foreign  soldiery,  by  which 
the  inhabitants  of  towns  where  they  were  quar- 
tered had  sometimes  been  constrained  to  for- 
sake their  homes  in  order  to  escape  Spanish 
insolence  and  tyranny. 

At  first  the  king  was  'very  angry.  After  a 
few  days,  however,  he  sent  the  assembly  a 
smooth  message,  stating  some  reasons  why  lie 
could  not  dismiss  the  troops.  In  the  first  place, 
they  were  needed  to  defend  the  country  from 
foreign  invasion  ;  besides,  there  were  only  three 
or  four  thousand  of  them  in  all.  Still,  he 
could  not  dismiss  them,  for  want  of  funds  to 


42  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

pay  off  old  scores,  until  money  should  arrive 
from  Spain.  And  finally,  the  king  concluded 
his  very  consistent  and  logical  argument  by 
promising  soundly  and  roundly  that  they  should 
depart  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  months  at 
the  farthest. 

The  king  took  leave  of  the  deputies  with 
pretended  cordiality,  though  secretly  much  in- 
censed by  their  remonstrance.  But  he  was  too 
angry  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  refrain  from 
harsh  and  bitter  words  in  public,  on  the  day  he 
embarked  for  Spain.  Probably  he  suspected 
that  the  prince  knew  what  scheme  was  on  foot, 
and  had  opposed  the  longer  stay  of  the  Spanish 
troops  on  that  account,  which  was  the  fact. 
And  he  must  have  instinctively  perceived  that 
here  was  one  who  would  prove  too  much  for 
him,  both  in  counsel  and  in  war. 

A  great  fleet  of  ninety  vessels  escorted  the 
king  to  Spain.  The  latter  part  of  the  voyage 
proved  so  stormy  and  perilous  that  Philip 
thought  himself  happy  in  escaping  alive. 
Nine  ships  were  lost,  and  most  of  the  rich  mer- 
chandise, pictures,  and  jewelry  which  he  was 


A    SECRET  DISCOVERED.  43 

carrying  home  from  the  Netherlands.  More 
than  a  thousand  persons  perished  in  the  wreck 
of  these  vessels,  and  the  king  himself  escaped 
to  land  only  by  taking  to  a  small  boat. 

It  was  on  the  8th  of  September,  1559,  that 
he  landed  at  Laredo,  more  than  ever  resolved  to 
devote  the  life  so  wonderfully  preserved  to  the 
destruction  of  heresy.  In  honor  of  his  return, 
a  grand  auto-da-fk,  which  had  been  deferred 
specially  to  grace  his  majesty's  arrival,  was 
celebrated  at  Yalladolid.  Thirteen  illustrious 
persons  condemned  by  the  Holy  Inquisition 
were  publicly  burned  before  the  king's  approv- 
ing eyes.  The  horrid  spectacle  was  introduced 
by  tolling  bells  at  six  in  the  morning ;  then 
came  an  imposing  procession,  a  sermon,  and 
finally  the  execution,  which  was  not  over  until 
two  in  the  afternoon.  Shortly  afterwards,  a 
similar  tragedy  on  a  larger  scale  was  enacted 
at  Seville,  where  fifty  heretics  were  burned. 
This  was  the  work  of  that  favorite  institution 
which  Philip  proposed  to  transplant  to  the 
Netherlands. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

INQUISITIONS  AND    INQUISITORS. 

HILIP  had  gone  from  the  Low  Countries  ; 

and,  as  it  proved,  he  was  never  to   corne 
Gc?  back.     But  the   foreign  troops  were  left 

behind  ;  the  "  edicts  "  were  in  force  ;  the 
inquisition,  in  the  two  forms  in  which  it  had 
long  existed  there,  was  industriously  at  work. 
It  was  now  to  be  seen  how  much  these  three 
favorite  agencies  would  do  toward  clearing  the 
country  of  heresy. 

There  had  been  tokens  of  a  coming  reform 
in  the  Netherlands  long  before  this.  Here  and 
there,  some  burdened  conscience,  unable  to 
rest  on  any  good  works  of  its  own,  had  been 
forced  to  question  whether  masses  and  pen- 
ance, rosaries  and  holy  water,  are  really  what 
saves  us ;  whether  there  needs  the  priest  and 
the  saints  and  the  Virgin  Mary  to  intercede 

44 


INQUISITIONS  AND   INQUISITORS.  45 

with  Christ  that  the  guilty  maybe  absolved  ;  or 
whether  one  may  not  come  directly  unto  him. 
And  then,  with  mingled  hope  and  fear,  the  mo- 
mentous experiment  had  been  tried ;  the  weary 
soul  had  ventured  into  the  very  arms  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  himself,  and  had  found  there  au 
everlasting  rest.  How  could  one  help  telling 
of  a  discovery  like  this  ?  And  so  the  light  had 
been  spreading,  little  by  little  at  first,  just  as 
the  gray  dawn  imperceptibly  succeeds  the  black 
midnight,  and  then  faster  and  faster,  as  the 
bright  sunrise  hastens  on.  It  was  already  past 
being  quenched  by  any  extinguisher  of  Philip's, 
though  the  emperor  had  bequeathed  to  him  his 
very  best.  Among  them  none  was  more  valued 
than  the  "  edicts." 

The  first  edict  for  the  suppression  of  the  re- 
formed faith  had  been  issued  by  Charles  V.  in 
1520.  Others  of  similar  import  had  been  pub- 
lished at  intervals  during  his  reign  ;  but  that 
of  September,  1550,  lias  been  most  noted,  be- 
cause it  became  the  basis  of  Philip's  laws  on 
the  subject.     Here  is  an  extract:  — 

"  No  one  shall  print,  write,  copy,  keep,  hide, 


46  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

sell,  buy,  or  give,  in  churches,  streets,  or  other 
places,  airy  book  or  writing  made  by  Martin 
Luther,  John  Ecolampadius,  Ulric  Zwinglius, 
Martin  Bucer,  John  Calvin,  or  other  heretics 
reprobated  by  the  Holy  Church,  ....  nor  in 
his  household  conventicles  or  illegal  gatherings, 
or  be  present  at  any  such,  in  which  the  adher- 
ents of  the  above-mentioned  heretics  teach, 
baptize,  and  form  conspiracies  against  the  Holy 
Church  and  the  general  welfare More- 
over, we  forbid  all  lay  persons  to  converse  or  dis- 
pute concerning  the  Holy  Scriptures,  openly  or 
secretly,  especially  on  any  doubtful  or  difficult 
matters,  or  to  read,  teach,  or  expound  the 
Scriptures,  unless  they  have  deeply  studied 
theology  and  been  approved  by  some  renowned 
university,  ....  or  to  preach  secretly  or  open- 
ly, or  to  entertain  any  of  the  opinions  of  the 
above-mentioned  heretics,  ....  on  pain  of 
being  punished  in  the  following  manner,  to  wit: 
the  men  with  the  sword,  and  the  women  to  be 
buried  alive,  if  they  do  not  persist  in  their  er- 
rors ;  if  they  do  persist  in  them,  then  they  are 


INQUISITIONS  AND  INQUISITORS.  47 

to  be  executed  with  fire ;  all  their  property,  in 
both  cases,  being  confiscated  to  the  crown." 

Whoever  failed  to  betray  a  suspected  person 
was  liable  to  the  same  punishment.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  who  informed  against  such  a 
one,  in  case  of  conviction  was  to  be  rewarded 
by  a  share  of  the  property  of  the  accused.  And 
no  person,  of  whatever  rank,  might  ask  for  a 
convicted  heretic  either  pardon  or  reprieve. 

This  was  the  law  of  the  land.  It  was  denom- 
inated a  perpetual  edict,  and  was  to  be  pub- 
lished twice  a  year  in  every  city  and  village  of 
the  Netherlands,  so  long  as  the  world  should 
stand.  At  the  very  outset  of  Philip's  reign  he 
had  adopted  this  edict  as  his  own,  and  had  or- 
dered every  officer,  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
est, to  enforce  it  with  the  utmost  rigor,  and 
without  any  respect  of  persons. 

Philip  had  contrived  another  measure  for 
promoting  the  same  end ;  but  it  was  kept  secret 
until  about  the  time  of  the  king's  departure 
for  Spain.  This  was  the  addition  of  a  large 
number  of  bishops  and  other  ecclesiastics  to  the 
Nethcrland  clergy ;  not  only  in  order  that  the 


48  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

religious  interests  of  the  people  might  be  more 
strictly  guarded,  but  also  that  these  new  digni- 
taries might  be  a  power  in  the  government. 
The  clergy  constituted  one  of  the  estates  of  the 
realm  ;  and  since  the  new  members  would  be 
nominated  by  the  king,  and  of  course  obedient 
to  his  wishes,  their  influence  would  help  to  bal- 
ance the  rising  opposition  of  the  great  nobles. 
This  measure  instantly  produced  a  very  great 
excitement ;  and  there  was  good  reason  for  it, 
as  we  shall  see. 

In  the  first  place,  the  ancient  charters  of  the 
provinces  expressly  declared  that  the  sovereign 
should  not  enlarge  or  elevate  the  ecclesiastical 
establishment  without  the  consent  of  the  other 
two  estates,  viz.,  the  nobility  and  the  cities. 
Hitherto  there  had  been  but  four  bishops  for 
the  whole  couutry,  those  of  Arras,  Cambray, 
Tournay,  and  Utrecht.  There  were  no  arch- 
bishops in  the  Netherlands  at  all,  the  four  epis- 
copal sees  being  under  the  neighboring  arch- 
bishops of  Cologne  and  Rheims.  But  now 
three  archbishops  had  been  appointed,  and  the 
number  of  bishops  was  increased  to  fifteen. 


INQUISITIONS  AND  INQUISITORS.  49 

Moreover,  each  bishop  was  to  appoint  nine  ad- 
ditional prebendaries,  who  should  assist  him  in 
carrying  on  the  inquisition  in  his  own  diocese ; 
and  two  of  the  nine  were  to  be  themselves  in- 
quisitors. Indeed,  the  whole  body  of  newly- 
appointed  ecclesiastics,  numbering  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  was  regarded  by  the 
populace  as  such,  though  only  thirty  of  them 
openly  bore  the  hated  title.  Neither  the  name 
nor  the  office  was  liked  by  the  Netherlanders. 
They  knew  only  too  well  what  it  implied.  It 
meant  a  perpetually  overhanging  terror,  making 
day  like  night,  and  night  like  the  shadow  of 
death.  It  meant  desolated  homes,  beggared 
children,  broken  hearts.  It  meant  a  tyranny 
knowing  no  limit,  and  from  whose  grasp  there 
was  no  appeal. 

Hitherto,  each  bishop  had  been  head-inquisi- 
tor in  his  own  diocese.  But  as  the  number  of 
bishops  was  now  so  much  greater,  the  size  of 
each  diocese  would  be  proportionally  dimin- 
ished, and  the  field  could  of  course  be  watched 
witli  a  far  closer  scrutiny,  even  leaving  out  of 
the   account   the  nine  new   assistants.      Now, 

4, 


50  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

more  than  ever  before,  they  might  be  expected 
to  be  extreme  in  marking  what  was  done  amiss. 

Besides,  there  was  another  inquisition,  whose 
officers  were  appointed  by  the  pope.  They 
could  hunt  heretics  through  every  diocese  in 
the  land,  and  could  lay  violent  hands  on  even 
bishops  and  archbishops  themselves.  Any  sub- 
ject of  the  king,  whatever  his  rank,  might  be 
compelled  to  give  evidence,  on  pain  of  death. 
The  civil  magistrates  were  ordered  to  render 
all  assistance  to  these  functionaries,  "  in  their 
holy  and  pious  inquisition,"  under  the  same  ex- 
treme penalty.  If  an  inquisitor  simply  said  to 
a  sheriff,  "  Arrest,  torture,  execute  such  or  such 
a  man,"  the  officer  was  bound  to  do  it,  without 
formal  warrant,  and  even  in  defiance  of  any 
privileges  or  charters  to  the  contrary.  The 
inquisition  was  above  the  law  itself. 

The  inquisition  of  Spain  differed  from  the 
papal  and  episcopal  chiefly  in  being  better 
adapted  to  ferret  out  secret  heretics.  When 
the  Netherlanders  became  so  much  excited 
about  the  matter,  they  were  assured  that  there 
was  no  design  to  introduce  the  Spanish  inqui- 


INQUISITIONS  AND  INQUISITORS.  51 

sition.  In  fact,  Philip  himself  remarked  to  his 
sister  that  there  was  no  need,  since  the  institu- 
tion as  already  existing  in  the  Low  Countries 
was  as  pitiless  as  could  be  desired.  Nothing 
more  was  needful  than  to  keep  in  full  activity 
the  precious  apparatus  which  they  already  had. 
Still,  the  people  did  not  like  it  in  any  shape. 
As  Motley  observes,  "  It  was  not  easy  to  con- 
struct an  agreeable  inquisition.  However  clas- 
sified or  entitled,  it  was  a  machine  for  inquiring 
into  a  man's  thoughts,  and  for  burning  him,  if 
the  result  was  not  satisfactory." 

Nevertheless,  there  it  was,  and  there  were 
the  edicts  too.  The  new  bishops  were  appointed, 
and  the  Spanish  troops  were  still  on  hand  to 
back  them.  Nothing  remained  but  for  the  peo- 
ple to  be  led  as  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  by 
butchers  like  Peter  Titelmann,  Barbier,  and 
De  Monte. 

The  picture  which  history  presents  of  Peter 
Titelmaiin's  career  is  worth  preserving,  were  it 
only  to  show  how  much  like  a  demon  a  human 
being  may  become,  even  in  this  world.  During 
the  period  of  which  we  are  writing,  he  was  in- 


52  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

quisitor  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the 
Netherlands,  including  Flanders,  Doreay,  and 
Tournay.  What  has  rendered  him  so  famous 
during  three  centuries  is  not  so  much  the 
cruel  acts  he  did,  as  the  intense  pleasure  he 
seemed  to  find  in  doing  them.  Apparently  his 
bloody  work  was  his  highest  delight.  Day  and 
night  he  used  to  scour  the  country  on  horse- 
back, pursuing  his  game  with  a  hungry  eager- 
ness that  could  never  get  enough.  To  him 
nothing  was  so  sweet  as  to  hunt  heretics,  ex- 
cept to  torture  and  burn  them.  Even  in  a  good 
cause,  zeal  so  unquenchable  would  strike  us 
as  something  superhuman.  But  Titelmann's 
seemed  absolutely  infernal,  and  only  the  more 
so  for  the  grim  jollity  he  sometimes  displayed. 
There  must  be  a  good  deal  of  the  devil  in  a 
man  who  can  laugh  over  writhing,  expiring  vic- 
tims. 

Titelmann  found  little  to  hinder  him  in  his 
work.  The  laws  were  nothing  to  an  inquisitor. 
There  was  no  need  of  a  warrant,  or  even  of 
information.  He  had  only  to  arrest  a  man, — 
professedly  on   suspicion,  —  then  torture  him 


INQUISITIONS   AND   INQUISITORS.  53 

till  he  confessed  something,  and  finally  burn 
him. 

"  The  secular  sheriff,  —  familiarly  called 
Red-Rod  from  the  color  of ,  his  wand  of  office," 
says  Motley,  "  meeting  this  inquisitor  Titel- 
mann  one  day  upon  the  high  road,  thus  won- 
deringly  addressed  him.  '  How  can  you  ven- 
ture to  go  about  alone,  or  at  most  with  an  at- 
tendant or  two,  arresting  people  on  every  side, 
while  I  dare  not  attempt  to  execute  my  office, 
except  at  the  head  of  a  strong  force,  armed  in 
proof;  and  then  only  at  the  peril  of  my  life  ? ' 

"  '  Ah  !  Red-Rod,'  answered  Peter  jocosely, 
'  you  deal  with  bad  people.  I  have  nothing  to 
fear,  for  I  seize  only  the  innocent  and  the  vir- 
tuous, who  make  no  resistance,  and  let  them- 
selves be  taken  like  lambs.' 

"  '  Mighty  well ! '  said  the  other  ;  '  but  if  you 
arrest  all  the  good  people,  and  I  all  the  bad,  'tis 
difficult  to  say  who  in  the  world  is  to  escape.' " 

The  same  historian  relates  several  anecdotes 
of  individuals  who  suffered  martyrdom  under 
Titelmann  and  his  fellow-inquisitors.  Among 
them  is  the  story  of  Bertrand  Le  Bias,  a  velvet- 


54  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

manufacturer  of  Tournay,  who,  while  mass  was 
being  performed  in  the  cathedral  on  Christmas 
day,  of  deliberate  purpose  snatched  the  holy 
wafer  from  the  hands  of  the  priest,  and  tram- 
pled it  under  his  feet.  Everybody  was  so  hor- 
rified at  an  act  of  such  appalling  impiety, 
that  the  whole  assembly  remained  motionless. 
"  Misguided  men,"  exclaimed  the  daring  reform- 
er, "  do  you  take  this  thing  to  be  Jesus  Christ, 
your  Lord  and  Saviour  ?  "  He  had  time  enough 
to  have  made  his  escape,  before  anybody  stirred 
to  arrest  him ;  but  he  remained  on  the  spot, 
ready  to  abide  the  result  of  the  deed,  and  de- 
claring that  he  would  gladly  die  a  hundred 
deaths,  if  he  might  thus  rescue  the  dear  name 
of  Christ  from  being  so  profaned.  He  was 
executed,  after  thrice  being  put  to  the  tor- 
ture, in  the  following  manner.  Having  been 
gagged,  he  was  dragged  to  the  market-place, 
where  his  right  hand  and  foot  were  twisted  off 
between  two  red-hot  irons.  Then  his  tongue 
was  torn  out ;  and,  having  been  suspended  by  a 
chain  over  a  slow  fire,  he  was  kept  swinging  to 


INQUISITIONS  AND   INQUISITORS,  55 

and  fro  until  he  was  completely  roasted,  bravely 
enduring  it  all  to  the  last. 

Many  other  narratives  of  individual  martyrs 
are  on  record.  But  to  some  minds  there  is  a 
still  more  affecting  interest  connected  with  a 
brief,  casual  mention  of  some  obscure  sufferer 
for  Christ,  like  the  following.  It  is  taken  by 
Motley  almost  at  random  from  the  municipal 
account-book  of  Tournay,  during  this  same 
period. 

"  To  Mr.  Jacques  Barra,  executioner,  for 
having  tortured,  twice,  Jean  de  Lannoy,  ten 
sous. 

"  To  the  same,  for  having  executed,  by  fire, 
said  Lannoy,  sixty  sous. 

"  For  having  thrown  his  cinders  into  the 
river,  eight  sous" 

This  is  all  we  know  of  Jean  de  Lannoy,  — 
what  the  city  of  Tournay  paid  for  burning  him 
alive.  The  terms  strike  us  as  decidedly  moder- 
ate, considering  the  nature  of  the  operation, — 
not  far  from  what  we  pay  now-a-days  to  get  a 
tooth  extracted.  A  great  many  little  bills  like 
the  above  were  presented  to  the  city  of  Tournay, 


56  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

every  year.  Quite  a  steady,  respectable  busi- 
ness had  "  Mr.  Jacques  Barra,  executioner,"  no 
doubt.  In  the  case  of  Bertrand  Le  Bias,  how- 
ever, his  charges  must  have  been  a  little  higher. 
We  fancy  him  congratulating  himself  on  hav- 
ing done  an  uncommonly  handsome  job  that 
day,  as  he  sits  down  at  nightfall,  pen  in  hand, 
to  enumerate  the  separate  items,  and  foot  up 
the  bill  against  the  city  of  Tournay.  So  much 
for  putting  on  the  iron  gag,  —  so  much  for 
twisting  off  hand  and  foot,  —  so  much  for  tear- 
ing out  the  tongue,  —  so  much  for  swinging  him 
over  the  slow  fire  until  he  was  roasted. 

Is  this  too  horrible  to  be  talked  about  ?  There 
were  thousands  and  thousands  of  obscure  Chris- 
tians who  thought  it  not  too  much  to  be  en- 
dured. 


v 


H§5 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE  PRINCE'S    WEDDING. 

)0T  very  long  after  the  king  returned  to 
Spain,  there  began  to  be  much  talk  at 
Brussels  —  and  indeed  in  several  Euro- 
pean courts  —  of  an  approaching  mar- 
riage "  in  high  life."  It  strikes  us  rather 
strangely,  after  reading  of  the  horrid  scenes  so 
frequently  occurring  at  this  period,  to  find  that 
in  the  midst  of  them  all  people  were  "  eating 
and  drinking, marrying  and  giving  in  marriage," 
just  as  usual.     Yet  so  it  was. 

Anne  of  Egmont,  the  wife  of  William  of  Or- 
ange, had  died  in  1558,  and  he  was  now  about 
to  marry  a  second  time.  Our  young  readers 
will  be  interested  in  an  event  which  illustrates 
so  many  customs  of  that  day. 

Of  course,  princely  marriages  are  seldom 
arranged   without   considerable   trouble.     The 

57 


58  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

personal  preferences  of  the  parties  concerned 
do  not  often  have  much  weight.  Political  con- 
siderations are  held  to  be  far  more  important 
than  private  feelings.  It  is  usually  a  very  per- 
plexing business,  because  there  are  so  many 
parties  to  be  pleased  or  vexed  by  the  choice,  so 
many  questions  about  rank  and  estates,  and 
withal  so  few  possible  candidates.  It  was  so 
in  the  present  case. 

When  the  matter  began  to  be  considered,  at 
the  close  of  the  customary  year  of  mourning, 
Cardinal  Granvelle  suggested  that  the  prince 
should  marry  the  daughter  of  the  Duchess  of 
Lorraine.  This  alliance  would  have  brought 
William  into  close  connection  with  the  royal 
families  of  both  France  and  Spain.  But  by 
some  means  the  negotiations  were  broken  off, 
and  the  prince  then  turned  his  attention  to 
Germany. 

At  the  court  of  Augustus  of  Saxony  there 
lived  a  young  orphan  niece  of  the  elector,  the 
daughter  of  his  deceased  brother  Maurice. 
The  Princess  Anna  of  Saxony  was  now  about 
sixteen  years  of  age.     She  was  not  beautiful, 


THE    PRINCE'S    WEDDING.  59 

and  still  less  was  she  amiable.  However,  her 
princely  suitor  of  course  did  not  know  much 
about  that.  The  alliance  was  thought  desirable 
so  far  as  her  family  and  rank  were  concerned. 
The  princess  herself  took  a  great  fancy  to 
her  handsome  and  noble  suitor,  at  first  sight. 
But  her  uncle,  the  elector,  did  not  altogether 
favor  the  match ;  and  Philip  also  objected, 
though  he  did  not  positively  oppose  it.  Anna's 
father,  the  elector  Maurice,  had  been  an  enemy 
of  Charles  V.  in  the  latter  part  of  the  emper- 
or's reign,  and  had  once  put  him  to  flight.  Be- 
sides, Maurice  had  frustrated  at  least  one  ambi- 
tious project  of  Philip's  own.  The  fact  that 
the  young  princess  had  been  brought  up  a 
Lutheran  was  also  an  objection,  in  the  mind  of 
the  king.  On  the  other  hand,  her  grandfather, 
the  landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse,  —  who  had  been 
a  faithful  follower  of  Luther  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  in  his  later  years  had  suffered  a  long 
and  unjust  imprisonment  at  the  hands  of 
Charles  V.,  —  steadfastly  opposed  her  marrying 
a  professed  Catholic.  So  there  were  obstacles  on 
both  sides. 


60  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

However,  the  prince  had  made  up  his  mind, 
and  in  due  time  wrote  to  request  the  royal  ap- 
proval. After  a  long  and  irresolute  pause,  such 
as  Philip  was  in  the  habit  of  making,  he  re- 
plied, in  a  letter  to  the  cardinal,  that  he  really 
didn't  know  what  to  say  about  the  match.  He 
wished  it  had  been  dropped  ;  yet  if  it  could  not 
be  helped,  perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  give  per- 
mission. "  But  if  there  be  a  remedy,"  added 
the  king,  "  it  would  be  better  to  take  it :  be- 
cause I  don't  see  how  the  prince  could  think 
of  marrying  with  the  daughter  of  the  man  who 
did  to  his  majesty,  now  in  glory,  that  which 
Duke  Maurice  did." 

Meanwhile  the  elector  Augustus  was  doing 
his  best  to  make  the  prince  promise  that  Anna 
should  be  allowed  to  worship  in  the  Lutheran 
mode  in  private.  Lutherans  were  not  then 
considered  so  desperately  heretical  as  Calvin- 
ists  and  Anabaptists,  by  any  means  ;  so  that  it 
might  not  have  been  impossible  to  obtain  this 
privilege,  even  in  the  Netherlands,  for  a  prin- 
cess. But  the  prince  was  not  disposed  to  get 
himself   into   trouble    by   giving   any   written 


THE   PRINCE'S    WEDDING.  61 

pledge ;  and  indeed  he  treated  the  religious 
question  as  of  very  little  consequence.  "  My 
wife,"  said  he,  "  shall  not  be  troubled  with  such 
melancholy  things.  Instead  of  holy  writ,  she 
shall  read  '  Amadis  de  Gaule,'  and  such  books 
of  pastime  which  discourse  concerning  love  ; 
and  instead  of  knitting  and  sewing,  she  shall 
learn  to  dance  a  gallia7*de,  and  such  other  cour- 
toisies  as  are  the  mode  of  our  country,  and 
suitable  to  her  rank." 

After  quoting  this  light  reply  of  the  prince, 
Motley  says,  "  It  is  very  certain  that  William 
of  Orange  was  not  yet  the  '  Father  William ' 
he  was  destined  to  become,  —  grave,  self-sacri- 
ficing, deeply  religious,  heroic."  It  would 
almost  seem  that  all  religions  were  alike  indif- 
ferent to  him,  except  when  outward  conformity 
to  one  or  another  was  enforced  by  the  law  of 
the  land.  To  be  an  avowed  Protestant,  in  the 
Netherlands,  would  be  to  court  an  early  mar- 
tyrdom ;  and  ho  was  not  yet  ready  to  do  that. 
The  utmost  he  would  do  to  content  the  elector 
was  simply  to  give  a  verbal  promise,  in  indefi- 
nite terms,  just  before  the  marriage  ceremony 


62  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

was  performed.  The  princess  was  not  com- 
pelled to  become  a  Catholic  ;  but  she  conformed 
to  the  public  observances  of  that  church,  as  he 
himself  continued  to  do  for  several  years. 

The  wedding  took  place  at  Leipsic,  on  the 
24th  of  August,  1561.  It  was  a  very  brilliant 
affair.  Philip  himself  condescended  to  smile 
on  the  marriage,  when  he  found  he  could  not 
prevent  it,  and  sent  as  a  gift  to  the  bride  a 
ring  worth  three  thousand  crowns.  He  was 
represented  on  the  occasion  by  the  Baron  Mon- 
tigny,  with  a  splendid  retinue  of  Netherland 
nobles.  The  king  of  Denmark  also  was  repre- 
sented by  a  special  embassador.  The  sover- 
eigns of  many  German  states  were  present  in 
person,  and  others  by  their  envoys.  The  muni- 
cipal councils  of  several  cities  were  also  invited  ; 
and  the  bridegroom  himself  was  accompanied 
by  his  illustrious  brothers,  John,  Adolphus,  and 
Louis  of  Nassau,  by  the  Burens,  kinsmen  of 
his  former  wife,  and  by  many  other  persons  of 
note. 

The  city  of  Leipsic  had  its  hands  full  to  en- 
tertain such  a  multitude  of  noble  strangers  and 


THE   PRINCE'S    WEDDING.  63 

• 

their  vast  retinues  of  attendants.  As  the  elec- 
tor's palace  was  not  finished,  a  private  mansion 
was  assigned  to  each  of  the  sovereign  families, 
where  they  were  furnished  with  provisions  by 
the  electors'  officers.  Their  cooking,  however, 
was  done  by  their  own  household  servants, 
whom  they  brought  for  that  purpose.  They 
also  brought  their  own  plate  and  kitchen  uten- 
sils. All  the  sovereign  princes,  however,  used 
to  dine  with  the  elector  every  day,  in  the  spa- 
cious town-house,  while  their  suites  were  al- 
lowed to  take  their  meals  at  their  respective 
lodgings. 

On  the  day  preceding  the  wedding,  the  guests 
had  all  arrived,  and  Leipsic  was  merry  enough. 
The  bridegroom  and  his  train  passed  the  night 
at  Meneburg,  a  neighboring  town.  The  next 
morning  he  approached  the  city,  escorted  by 
one  thousand  horsemen,  and  was  met  by  the 
elector  at  the  head  of  an  immense  procession 
of  guests,  which  numbered  four  thousand.  The 
whole  cavalcade  now  rode  to  the  town-house, 
where  the  wedding  was  to  take  place.  The 
Princess  Anna,  surrounded  by  her  ladies,  re- 


64  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ceived  the  bridegroom  on  the  great  staircase, 
and  then  withdrew  to  her  apartments,  while 
certain  formalities  were  gone  through  by  the 
elector  and  the  prince. 

It  was  about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when 
the  bridal  procession,  preceded  by  the  musi- 
cians and  followed  by  the  court  marshals,  en- 
tered the  grand  hall  of  the  town-house,  where 
the  marriage  ceremony  was  performed.  Im- 
mediately after  it  was  concluded,  while  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  were  preparing  for  din- 
ner, five  round  tables,  each  seating  ten  guests, 
were  laid  in  the  same  hall.  The  first  course, 
alone,  consisted  of  twenty-five  dishes.  There  was 
music  from  all  the  bands  during  the  repast ; 
and  even  the  waiting  at  table  was  done  by  gen- 
tlemen of  rank,  and  noble  pages.  After  dinner 
there  were  several  dances,  followed  by  sweet- 
meats and  drinks  ;  and  so  the  long  day  at  last 
came  to  an  end.  Not  so  the  bridal  festivities, 
however,  for  they  continued  all  the  week. 

It  was  not  customary  among  the  Lutherans 
at  that  time  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony 
in  church,  but  at  a  private  dwelling.     The  hall 


THE   PRINCE'S    WEDDING.  65 

of  the  town-house  had  been  used  on  this  occa- 
sion simply  because  the  elector's  own  palace 
was  not  yet  finished.  But  early  »next  morn- 
ing a  splendid  procession  escorted  the  newly- 
wedded  pair  to  the  church  of  Saint  Nicholas,  to 
receive  a  benediction.  In  the  afternoon  there 
was  a  tournament  in  the  market-place,  which 
was  near  the  town-hall.  The  electress,  the 
young  Princess  of  Orange,  and  all  the  other 
ladies,  looked  over  from  the  balcony  and  win- 
dows. 

The  elector  himself  seems  to  have  been  the 
hero  of  these  knightly  games.  On  the  first 
day,  he  unhorsed  one  of  his  antagonists  so 
handsomely  that  the  cavalier's  shoulder  was  put 
out  of  joint,  which  could  hardly  have  been  a 
pleasant  operation  to  the  victim.  The  next 
day,  the  elector  conquered  another  adversary, 
"  bearing  him  off  over  his  horse's  tail  so  neatly 
that  the  knight  came  down,  heels  over  head, 
upon  the  earth."  The  game  of  the  third  day 
was  somewhat  different.  Three  leaders  entered 
the  lists,  —  the  Elector  Augustus,  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  and  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  — 


66  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

each  with  a  band  of  followers.  The  "  gate  of 
honor  "  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  margrave,  in  the 
outset ;  and  he  was  therefore  bound  to  main- 
tain it  against  the  two  other  parties.  But  the 
elector,  though  he  had  only  four  followers  to 
thirty-four  of  the  Brandenburgs,  finally  defeated 
the  margrave,  and  held  the  post  all  the  rest  of 
the  day. 

The  festivities  continued  for  two  days  more. 
One  would  suppose  a  week  of  such  revelry 
would  have  exhausted  the  redoubtable  elector 
himself.  The  expense  of  the  various  enter- 
tainments was  reckoned  at  a  hundred  thousand 
thalers.  In  after  years  the  prince  must  have 
looked  upon  the  splendid  extravagance  in  which 
he  then  indulged  with  very  different  eyes. 

The  marriage  thus  gayly  celebrated  did  not 
prove  a  happy  one.  The  violent  temper  and  ill- 
conduct  of  the  princess  finally  led  to  the  disso- 
lution of  the  sacred  tie  then  formed  ;  and  thir- 
teen years  afterward,  she  was  sent  back  to  her 
German  friends  repudiated  and  disgraced. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TROUBLE.  WITH  THE    CARDINAL. 

Y  the  new  ecclesiastical  arrangement,  the 
Bishop  of  Arras  had  been  created  arch- 
bishop of  Mechlin  ;  and  while  the  prince's 
wedding  was  being  celebrated  in  Saxony, 
the  new  prelate  had  made  a  public  entry  into 
the  city  which  gave  name  to  his  archiepisco- 
pate.  The  Netherland  people  were  extremely 
fond  of  grand  processions,  and  pageants  of  all 
kinds ;  but  instead  of  regarding  this  one  with 
the  usual  enthusiasm,  they  either  staid  away, 
or  gazed  in  sullen  silence.  The  whole  matter 
of  the  bishoprics  was  exceedingly  distasteful  to 
the  people,  both  on  account  of  the  violation  of 
their  ancient  charters  involved  in  the  recent 
arrangement,  and  on  account  of  the  aggravated 
persecutions  which   it   too   clearly    foreboded. 

G7 


68  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

And  so  the  new  Archbishop  of  Mechlin  found 
no  welcome  there. 

Most  persons  believed  that  the  scheme  of  the 
new  bishoprics  was  the  work  of  this  same  dig- 
nitary, who  was  now  the  primate  of  the  whole 
ecclesiastical  establishment  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries. Evidently  he  had  been  active  in  promot- 
ing it,  had  been  placed  at  its  head,  and  had  got 
the  largest  share  of  the  plunder  ;  for  the  new 
prelates  were  to  be  supported  by  the  revenues 
of  the  abbeys,  which  had  been  confiscated  for 
that  purpose.  The  inference  drawn  from  these 
facts  was  very  natural ;  but  it  was  not  true. 
Philip's  predecessor  had  formed  the  design, 
and  the  king  had  obtained  the  requisite  decree 
from  the  pope,  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
Bishop  of  Arras.  That  dignitary,  about  the 
same  time,  had  been  further  honored  by  the 
gift  of  a  cardinal's  red  hat,  from  the  pope,  at 
the  request  of  the  regent,  who  at  this  time  had 
a  great  regard  for  her  able  and  accomplished 
prime  minister.  , 

But  the  people  did  not  like  him  any  better 
under  the  new  name  of  Cardinal   Granvelle. 


TROUBLE    WITH   THE    CARDINAL.  69 

They  were  aware  that  his  talents  and  learning 
were  extraordinary.  It  is  related  that  when 
only  twenty  years  of  age,  he  spoke  seven  lan- 
guages with  perfect  ease  and  correctness.  Af- 
ter he  became  prime  minister,  he  used  to  dic- 
tate despatches  to  half  a  dozen  secretaries,  in 
as  many  different  languages,  and  upon  as  many 
different  subjects ;  and  he  would  keep  them  all 
at  work  thus  until  they  were  exhausted.  But 
the  more  able  and  powerful  they  saw  this  man 
to  be,  the  more  they  dreaded  and  hated  him ; 
for  they  well  knew  he  would  do  his  utmost,  not 
to  benefit  the  country,  but  to  please  the  king 
and  the  pope.  He  was  full  of  craft  and  cun- 
ning. If  he  could  not  readily  carry  his  point 
by  fair  means,  he  would  not  hesitate  to  use  foul 
ones.  Both  among  the  common  people  and  the 
nobles,  the  opposition  to  the  cardinal  was  grow- 
ing more  bitter  every  day. 

Brabant,  the  province  of  which  Brussels  was 
the  capital,  held  an  ancient  and  highly-prized 
charter  of  privileges  called  the  "  Joyous  En- 
try." It  contained  a  provision,  already  alluded 
to,  that  the  numbers  and  power  of  the  clergy 


70  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

should  not  be  augmented  without  the  consent 
of  the  other  two  estates,  —  the  nobility  and  the 
cities.  Further,  no  citizen  should  be  prose- 
cuted, except  in  the  ordinary  and  open  courts 
of  justice.  No  foreigners  should  hold  office  in 
Brabant.  And  should  the  sovereign,  by  force 
or  otherwise,  violate  the  aforesaid  privileges, 
the  people  were  no  longer  bound  by  their  oath 
of  allegiance  to  him.  It  was  clear  as  noonday 
that  this  charter  was  trampled  upon  in  the 
present  case.  Granvelle  himself  was  a  foreign- 
er. So  were  many  of  the  new  bishops  and  their 
tools.  The  inquisition  was  far  enough  from 
being  one  of  the  ordinary  and  open  courts  of 
justice  ;  yet  to  its  dark  and  bloody  tribunal  any 
man  in  the  land  might  be  dragged  at  any  hour. 
The  other  provinces  possessed  similar  privile- 
ges ;  and  the  entire  population  felt  that  their 
chartered  rights  had  been  grossly  violated. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  was  foremost  in  oppos- 
ing the  new  measures.  He  saw  to  what  they 
were  paving  the  way.  The  edicts  and  the  new 
bishoprics  were  designed  to  fortify  the  inquisi- 
tion, as  if  it  were  not  already  capable  of  doing 


TROUBLE    WITH  THE    CARDINAL.  71 

crimes  enough.  To  be  sure,  Cardinal  Granvelle 
had  smoothly  suggested  that  it  might  be  well 
to  drop  the  title  of  inquisitor  from  the  clause 
which  designated  two  of  the  nine  canons  in 
each  bishopric  to  that  odious  office.  It  would 
be  a  good  deal  pleasanter  to  say  simply  that 
these  officers  were  to  assist  the  bishop  in  any 
way  he  might  require.  But  the  people  consid- 
ered that  it  would  be  small  consolation  to  have 
the  name  suppressed,  if  the  thing  were  still  to 
remain. 

So  much  ado  had  been  made  about  the  Span 
ish  soldiery  that  about  a  year  and  a  half  after 
the  king's  departure  they  had  been  sent  away. 
The  cardinal  himself  had  written  to  Philip, 
"  It  cuts  me  to  the  heart  to  see  the  Spanish 
infantry  leave  us  ;  but  go  they  must.  I  see  no 
way  to  retain  them  without  manifest  danger  of 
a  sudden  revolt."  In  order  to  save  the  dignity 
of  the  government,  however,  it  was  pretended 
that  the  troops  were  needed  to  reinforce  the 
army  in  Barbary  just  then. 

Still,  inasmuch  as  the  edicts  and  the  bishop- 
rics remained,  and  were  vigorously  sustained 


72  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

by  Granvelle's  powerful  authority,  the  popular 
excitemeut  against  him  did  not  abate.  The 
cardinal  was  responsible  for  the  edicts,  if  not 
for  the  new  bishoprics  ;  since  it  was  by  his  sug- 
gestion that  they  had  been  proclaimed  afresh, 
in  the  first  month  of  Philip's  reign.  He  be- 
came more  and  more  odious  to  the  people  every 
day.  Whatever  they  suffered,  whatever  they 
feared,  was  laid  at  his  door,  —  where,  in  truth, 
most  of  it  belonged.  At  this  time,  he  possessed 
more  power  in  the  government  than  any  one 
else."  He  was  chief  of  the  "  Consulta,"  or  se- 
cret council  of  three,  by  whose  advice  the  re- 
gent was  guided.  He  used  to  manage  even  the 
king  himself,  though  in  so  smooth  and  artful 
a  way  that  Philip  always  supposed  he  managed 
Granvelle.  And  he  had  contrived  to  gain  such 
an  ascendency  over  the  mind  of  Margaret  that 
the  other  members  of  the  council  —  such  men 
as  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn  —  were  treated 
as  mere  ciphers. 

Very  naturally,  these  high-spirited  and  pow- 
erful nobles  found  such  a  position  intolerable. 
After  things  had  gone  on  in  this  style  for  a  year 


TROUBLE    WITH   THE    CARDINAL.  73 

or  two,  they  resolved  that  they  would  endure 
it  no  longer.  Either  the  cardinal  or  them- 
selves must  retire.  In  March,  1563,  Orange, 
Egmont,  and  Horn  wrote  a  joint  letter  to  the 
king.  In  respectful  yet  decided  language,  they 
stated  that  everything  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
cardinal,  who  was  so  excessively  unpopular 
that  his  majesty's  affairs  could  never  he  happily 
conducted  so  long  as  they  were  intrusted  to 
him.  It  was  necessary  that  something  should 
be  done  at  once,  or  the  country  would  be 
ruined.  And  since  they  could  no  longer  act 
harmoniously  with  the  cardinal,  they  begged 
leave  to  withdraw  from  the  council. 

The  crafty  Granvelle  always  kept  himself 
well  informed  as  to  what  was  going  on.  On 
the  day  before  this  letter  was  written,  and 
weeks  before  it  was  sent,  —  for  it  seems  to  have 
been  detained  to  receive  the  signatures  of  other 
nobles,  —  Granvelle  wrote  to  the  king  that  the 
seigniors  had  leagued  together  against  himself. 
They  were  about  to  send  a  letter  of  accusations, 
he  said  ;  and  lie  suggested  what  answer  it  would 
be  advisable  for  his  majesty  to  make. 


74  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Philip  did  not  reply  at  all,  for  three  months. 
At  the  end  of  that  time,  he  wrote  briefly,  sug- 
gesting that  such  delicate  matters  could  be  bet- 
ter treated  by  word  of  mouth,  and  that  one  of 
the  seigniors  would  do  well  to  visit  Spain  for 
that  purpose. 

This  letter  was  designed  simply  to  smooth 
over  or  at  least  to  protract  the  matter;  for 
Philip  used  to  consider  that  it  was  worth  a 
great  deal  if  he  could  put  off  a  troublesome 
business.  Before  long,  the  three  nobles  wrote 
again  to  the  king,  renewing  their  request  to  be 
excused  from  the  council ;  after  which  they 
absented  themselves  entirely.  They  also  pre- 
sented a  formal  remonstrance  to  the  regent, 
urging  her  to  convene  the  states-general  as  the 
only  way  to  remedy  the  deplorable  condition  of 
the  country.  They  still  continued,  however,  to 
administer  the  affairs  of  their  several  provinces. 

By  this  time,  Margaret  herself  was  growing 
somewhat  restive  under  the  cardinal's  smooth 
yet  absolute  control,  and  was  beginning  to 
think  that  perhaps  something  ought  to  be  done, 
though  she  hardly  knew  what.    So  she  sent  her 


TROUBLE    WITH   THE    CARDINAL.  75 

private  secretary,  Armenteros,  to  Spain,  to  see 
Philip.  But  the  king  was  in  no  haste  to  decide 
or  to  act.  The  longer  he  could  put  off  doing 
either,  the  better.  It  was  not  until  February  of 
the  following  year,  1564,  that  the  secretary 
reached  Brussels  again. 

All  this  while,  the  cardinal  was  daily  writing 
voluminous  despatches  to  the  king,  setting  forth 
the  miseries  of  his  own  position,  owing  to  the 
causeless  hate  and  malice  of  the  great  lords. 
Nevertheless,  he  would  continue  to  endure  them 
with  Christian  meekness  and  patience,  should 
such  be  his  majesty's  command.  Pretending 
great  candor  and  magnanimity,  he  affected  to 
speak  well  of  his  opponents,  while  he  was 
throwing  out  sly  insinuations  against  them  in 
the  same  breath.  He  endeavored  to  make  it 
appear  that  it  was  only  the  evil  influence  of  the 
nobles  that  made  the  masses  so  restless  and 
turbulent.  "  That  vile  animal  called  the  peo- 
ple," as  he  pleasantly  expressed  it,  would  no 
doubt  have  behaved  peaceably  enough,  but  for 
its  haughty  and  reckless  riders.  As  it  was, 
there  was  great  difficulty  in  getting  heretics 


76  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

promptly  punished,  though  he  was  doing  his 
utmost,  and  so  was  Madame  the  regent.  In 
short,  things  were  going  on  very  badly :  not  so 
much  because  the  people  objected  to  be  burned, 
we  may  infer,  as  because  the  nobles  neglected 
to  burn  them.  "  For  the  love  of  God  and  the 
service  of  our  holy  religion,"  he  piously  added, 
"  put  your  own  royal  hand  to  the  work.  Oth- 
erwise, we  have  only  to  exclaim,  '  Help,  Lord, 
for  we  perish  ! '  " 

A  few  weeks  later,  he  wrote  more  cheerfully. 
"  We  have  made  so  much  outcry  that  at  last 
Marquis  Berghen  has  been  forced  to  burn  a 
couple  of  heretics  at  Valenciennes.  Thus  it  is 
obvious  that  if  he  were  really  willing  to  apply 
the  remedy  in  that  place  much  progress  might 
be  made."  In  fact,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
much  progress  was  made,  by  the  help  of  the 
"  remedy  "  aforenamed ;  but  it  was  progress 
in  the  opposite  direction. 

Marquis  Berghen  had  a  special  reason  for 
hesitating  to  burn  heretics  in  Valenciennes. 
Only  the  preceding  year,  when  two  ministers  in 
that  city  had  been  led  to  the  stake  for  reading 


TROUBLW    WITH    THE    CARDINAL.  77 

the  Bible  to  a  few  friends,  such  a  tumult  had 
been  raised  by  "  that  vile  animal  called  the  peo- 
ple," that  the  burning  had  to  be  given  up,  and 
the  prisoners  made  their  escape.  To  be  sure, 
the  "  animal  "  had  paid  dear  for  its  temerity, 
since  great  numbers  of  those  who  shared  in  the 
mob  shortly  afterwards  met  the  very  doom  from 
which  they  had  rescued  their  beloved  preachers. 
Yet  such  occurrences  were  not  pleasant.  And 
so,  Catholic  as  he  was,  Marquis  Berghen  was 
not  disposed  to  burn  anybody  if  he  could  possi- 
bly avoid  it.  With  most  of  the  other  stadt- 
holders  it  was  much  the  same.  In  some  of 
the  provinces,  the  inquisition  had  never  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  itself  very  firmly ;  and 
the  nobles  could  evade  its  decrees,  though  they 
dared  not  openly  resist  them. 

The  cardinal  had  long  been  exposed  to  ridi- 
cule in  the  lampoons  and  pasquinades  of  the 
street.  The  popular  hatred  would  vent  itself 
in  covert  mockeries,  if  it  could  do  no  more. 
One  day,  when  the  excitement  about  the  new 
bishoprics  was  at  -the  highest,  a  petitioner 
placed  a  paper  in  the  cardinal's  hand,  and  van- 


78  WILLIAM   THE   SILEVT. 

ished.  The  supposed  petition,  when  opened, 
was  found  to  contain  some  scurrilous  verses 
upon  himself,  together  with  a  shrewd  caricature 
of  his  person,  in  which  he  was  delineated  as  a 
hen  sitting  upon  a  nestfull  of  eggs,  out  of  which 
a  brood  of  bishops  was  being  hatched.  Some 
were  just  breaking  the  shell ;  some  had  thrust 
forth  an  arm  or  a  leg ;  and  others  still  were 
running  about  with  miters  on  their  heads.  In 
each  of  these  episcopal  chicks,  a  ludicrous  like- 
ness to  some  one  of  the  new  bishops  might  be 
traced.  Of  course  everybody  had  a  hearty 
laugh  at  the  expense  of  the  caricatured  cardi- 
nal. 

But  the  most  vexatious  thing  of  this  sort 
was  "  the  fool's-cap  livery."  One  day,  in  De- 
cember, 1563,  a  large  party  of  noblemen  were 
dining  together  ;  and,  as  usual,  they  talked 
pretty  freely  about  Granvelle.  Much  was  said 
of  his  pompous  display  in  all  parts  of  his  es- 
tablishment, and  especially  in  the  liveries  of 
his  servants.  Everybody  was  forward  in  ridi- 
culing the  man  who  had  made  Himself  so  odi- 
ous.    Heated  with  wine,  they  resolved  to  con- 


TROUBLE    WITH  THE   CARDINAL.  79 

trive  for  their  own  retainers  some  very  peculiar 
costume,  whose  excessive  plainness  should  hit 
off  the  sumptuous  habits  of  the  cardinal. 
Egmont  devised  the  pattern.  The  livery  was 
of  the  plainest  gray  cloth,  with  long,  loose 
sleeves,  on  which  one  single  emblem  was  em- 
broidered,—  a  fool's  cap  and  bells.  The  new 
costume  at  once  became  immensely  fashiona- 
ble ;  for  everybody  enjoyed  a  hit  at  Granvelle, 
who  understood  it  only  too  well.  He  had  long 
been  aware  that  he  was  universally  detested, 
and  had  told  the  king  that  it  was  so.  Philip 
was  duly  informed  of  this  additional  insult,  of 
course.  Finally,  his  majesty  determined  to 
give  the  cardinal  permission  to  go  and  visit  his 
aged  mother,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  nine- 
teen years.  That  would  take  him  out  of  the 
country ;  and  then  some  excuse  could  be  in- 
vented to  prevent  his  return. 

Plowever,  nobody  must  be  allowed  to  suspect 
that  the  cardinal  had  been  forced  to  leave.  So 
a  series  of  falsehoods  was  contrived  for  the  oc- 
casion by  Philip,  who  had  an  extraordinary  gift 
for   that   sort    of    thing.     Granvelle    was    in- 


80  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

structed  to  ask  Margaret's  leave  to  be  absent 
for  a  few  days,  and  the  regent  was  to  write  to 
Philip  to  explain  the  case,  and  ask  to  be  ex- 
cused for  taking  the  liberty  to  let  him  go  with- 
out first  consulting  his  majesty.  And  about 
that  time  Armenteros  was  to  arrive  from  Spain, 
bringing  letters  to  the  three  seigniors,  stating 
that  the  king  had  not  yet  decided  in  regard  to 
the  cardinal,  of  whom  they  had  complained. 
His  majesty  desired  to  reflect  further  upon 
the  case.  So  the  whole  programme  of  lies  was 
duly  enacted,  and  nearly  everybody  was  im- 
posed upon,  until,  almost  three  centuries  after- 
ward, the  secret  correspondence  was  discov- 
ered. 

Granvelle  lived  more  than  twenty  years  after 
this,  but  he  never  returned  to  the  Netherlands. 
He  filled  some  important  positions  in  Spain  and 
elsewhere  ;  and  we  shall  occasionally  hear  of 
him  in  the  further  progress  of  the  narrative. 

It  is  related  that  as  the  cardinal  was  quitting 
Brussels  for  the  last  time,  attended  by  a  splen- 
did train,  two  young  nobles,  Brederode  and 
Hoogstraaten,  stood  at  a  window  watching  his 


TROUBLE    WITH   THE    CARDINAL.  81 

departure  with  a  boyish  exultation.  No  sooner 
had  he  passed  the  city  gates  than  they  rushed 
out,  and  both  mounting  upon  one  horse,  they 
galloped  after  the  receding  cavalcade.  In  this 
style  they  escorted  their  old  enemy  for  miles, 
sometimes  within  speaking  distance  of  his  car- 
riage. Brederode  was  a  reckless,  dashing, 
drunken  young  fellow,  always  ready  for  any 
kind  of  a  scrape ;  else  he  would  hardly  have 

run  into  a  frolic  so  undignified  as  was  this. 
6 


CHAPTER   VII. 

EGMONT'S   MISSION   TO   SPAIN. 

HE  country  was  at  length  rid  of  the  car- 
dinal ;  and  the  great  lords  now  returned 
to  their  seats  in  the  council.  Whatever 
had  led  Granvelle  to  go  away,  people  felt 
comfortably  sure  that  he  would  not  very  soon 
come  back.  Indeed,  Margaret  herself  was 
heartily  glad  to  be  rid  of  him.  She  now 
treated  Orange  and  Egmont  with  even  greater 
respect  and  confidence  than  she  had  formerly 
shown  to  the  cardinal.  The  king  also  wrote 
friendly  letters  to  the  grand  seigniors ;  and 
people  began  to  flatter  themselves  that  better 
days  were  coming. 

The  prince  was  very  anxious  to  bring  about 
certain  measures  which  lie  considered  of  the 
utmost  importance.  The  estates-general  must 
be  convoked,  if  the  regent  could  by  any  means 

82 


EGMONT'S  MISSION   TO   SPAIN.  83 

be  persuaded  to  do  it.  Furthermore,  the  edicts 
must  be  softened,  if  not  repealed.  Certain  re- 
forms were  also  demanded  in  the  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs,  which  had  become  ex- 
tremely corrupt.  To  the  accomplishment  of 
these  ends  the  prince  now  devoted  all  his  en- 
ergies. But  it  is  seldom  that  one  can  try  to 
do  any  good  thing,  without  finding  his  motives 
suspected.  There  were  those  who  took  it  upon 
them  to  say  that  Orange  was  only  anxious  to 
get  more  power  into  his  own  hands.  It  was 
secret  ambition,  in  their  opinion,  that  deprived 
him  of  sleep,  wasted  his  flesh,  and  made  him 
look  so  care-worn  and  old,  at  thirty. 

In  truth,  it  was  no  slight  struggle  in  which 
he  had  enlisted,  against  the  frauds  and  foul 
practices  of  the  court,  the  knavery  of  Marga- 
ret's favorite  secretary,  and  the  cruel  craft  of 
the  inquisition.  Life  could  no  longer  move  on 
as  hitherto,  like  a  gay  and  splendid  tourna- 
ment ;  it  was  henceforth  a  stern  and  earnest 
strife.  Step  by  step,  a  divine  hand  was  leading 
him  forward  to  his  great  work. 

Much  as  Granvelle  had  lamented  the  negli- 


84  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

gent  way  in  which  heresy  was  dealt  with,  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  that -persecution  languished 
greatly  at  this  time.  It  was  not  long  after  his 
departure  that  the  Catholic  authorities  of  the 
city  of  Bruges  humbly  represented  to  the  re- 
gent that  Peter  Titelmann,  Inquisitor  of  the 
Faith,  was  decidedly  overdoing  the  matter. 
They  said  he  was  in  the  daily  habit  of  seizing 
not  only  suspected  heretics,  but  the  most  or- 
thodox believers  too,  and  that  without  the 
least  ceremony.  In  case  he  possessed  no  evi- 
dence against  a  prisoner,  he  was  wont  to  have 
it  manufactured  to  order.  One  had  no  choice 
except  between  standing  in  the  witness-box  or 
at  the  prisoner's  bar.  If  one  refused  to  become 
a  false  accuser,  he  was  certain  to  be  accused ; 
and  to  be  accused  was  as  good  as  being  con- 
demned. The  four  estates  of  Flanders  also 
stated  the  same  facts  in  regard  to  Titelmann's 
outrages,  in  a  solemn  appeal  to  the  king. 

The  petitions  and  remonstrances  were  read 
in  the  privy  council,  whose  president,  the 
learned  and  able  yet  time-serving  Viglius,  pro- 
nounced them  "in  extremely  bad  taste."     The 


EGMONT'S  MISSION   TO   SPAIN.  85 

regent  contented  herself  with  charging  Titel- 
mann  to  execute  his  office  "  with  all  discretion 
and  modesty."  He  was,  if  possible,  less  likely 
to  heed  the  injunction  than  a  wolf  or  a  hyena 
might  have  been.  "  Indeed,"  says  Motley, 
"  Margaret  was  herself  in  mortal  fear  of  this 
horrible  personage.  He  besieged  her  chamber- 
door  almost  daily,  before  she  had  risen,  insist- 
ing upon  audiences  which,  notwithstanding  her 
repugnance  to  the  man,  she  did  not  dare  to 
refuse.  '  May  I  perish,'  said  Morillon,  '  if  she 
does  not  stand  in  exceeding  awe  of  Titel- 
mann ! '  "  And  so  the  inquisition  held  its 
ground. 

In  August,  1564,  the  king  ordered  that  the 
famous  decrees  of  the  council  of  Trent  should 
be  proclaimed  throughout  the  Netherlands,  and 
carried  into  effect.  This  was  a  very  serious 
matter.  Many  of  the  nobles  urged  that  the 
decrees  should  at  least  be  somewhat  modified; 
for  they  trampled  on  the  rights  of  everybody, 
whether  high  or  low,  as  it  was.  But  President 
Viglius  protested  that  there  would  be  no  use  in 
making  the  smallest  concession.    Do  what  they 


86  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

might,  the  people  would  still  complain  ;  and, 
for  his  part,  he  was  in  favor  of  maintaining  the 
decrees  just  as  they  were. 

Margaret  hesitated  as  to  what  course  to  take. 
She  concluded  to  send  Count  Egmont  to  Spain, 
to  lay  the  matter  before  the  king.  Yiglius 
made  out  a  rough  draught  of  instructions  for 
the  envoy,  and  submitted  it  to  the  council. 
The  matter  of  complaint  had  been  smoothed 
down  and  patted  and  stroked  by  the  politic 
president,  till  one  could  hardly  tell  whether  to 
call  it  a  kitten  or  a  young  tiger.  The  "instruc- 
tions "  were  delightfully  polished  and  slippery 
in  their  indefinite  platitudes.  Nobody  could 
get  hold  of  their  real  meaning,  if  they  had  any. 
But  the  members  of  the  council  sat  in  discreet 
silence  around  the  board,  until  it  came  to  the 
turn  of  the  prince  to  signify  his  opinion  of  the 
document. 

Then  William  of  Orange  for  once  gave  way 
to  the  long  pent-up  tide  of  thought  and  feeling 
within  him.  "  It  is  time  to  speak  out,"  said 
lie,  in  substance.  -"Tell  the  king  the  whole 
truth,  and  tell  it  now.     We  can  not  tolerate 


EGMONT'S   MISSION    TO    SPAIN.  87 

the  inquisition  any  longer.  The  decrees  of 
Trent  can  not  be  enforced  in  our  free  provinces. 
It  is  idle  to  attempt  it.  Catholic  as  I  am,  and 
intend  always  to  remain,  I  can  not  stand  still 
and  calmly  see  princes  striving  to  tyrannize 
over  men's  souls." 

The  prince  spoke  long  and  earnestly,  for  his 
great  heart  was  full.  There  was  scarcely  one 
at  the  council-board  who  was  not  convinced. 
Viglius  was  not  a  little  worried,  and  lay  awake 
all  night  trying  to  frame  an  effective  reply  to  a 
speech  of  so  dangerous  a  tendency.  But  while 
dressing,  next  morning,  he  fell  down  in  a  fit 
of  apoplexy.  His  intimate  friend,  Joachim 
Hopper,  presided  at  the  council  during  the  ill- 
ness of  Viglius  ;  and  by  him  Egmont's  instruc- 
tions were  finally  tnade  out.  They  contained 
some  gentle  suggestions  as  to  mitigating  the 
edicts,  and  showing  a  little  mercy  to  the  un- 
happy Netherlands ;  but  they  were  far  from 
presenting  a  full  view  of  the  situation  of  affairs. 

Perhaps  we  should  here  allude  more  particu- 
larly to  these  celebrated  decrees  of  Trent. 
Motley  says,  "  They  related  to  three  subjects : 


88  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  doctrines  to  be  inculcated  by  the  church, 
the  reformation  of  ecclesiastical  morals,  and 
the  education  of  the  people.  General  police 
regulations  were  issued,  at  the  same  time,  by 
which  heretics  were  to  be  excluded  from  all 
share  in  the  usual  conveniences  of  society,  and 
were  in  fact  to  be  strictly  excommunicated. 
Inns  were  to  receive  no  guests,  schools  no  chil- 
dren, alms-houses  no  paupers,  grave-yards  no 
dead  bodies,  unless  guests,  children,  paupers, 
and  dead  bodies  were  furnished  with  the  most 
satisfactory  proofs  of  orthodoxy.  .  .  .  Births, 
deaths,  and  marriages  could  only  occur  with 
validity  under  the  shadow  of  the  church.  No 
human  being  could  consider  himself  born  or 
defunct,  unless  provided  with  a  priest's  certifi- 
cate. The  heretic  was  ex«luded,  so  far  as  ec- 
clesiastical dogma  could  exclude  him,  from  the 
pale  of  humanity,  from  consecrated  earth,  and 
from  eternal  salvation." 

In  January,  1565,  Egmont  set  out  with  great 
pomp  on  his  mission  to  Spain.  He  was  re- 
ceived by  the  king  with  the  most  flattering 
kindness.    Philip  had  resolved  to  win  him  over 


EGMONT 'S  MISSION   TO   SPAIN.  89 

from  the  side  of  right  to  that  of  might ;  and  he 
accomplished  it  with  great  ease.  Dinners  at 
the  king's  private  table,  daily  airings  in  the 
king's  own  carriage,  visits  to  the  Escorial  and 
the  wood  of  Segovia,  presents  in  hand,  and 
promises  for  the  future,  soon  allayed  Egmont's 
solicitude  for  the  suffering  people  at  home. 
When  the  king  gently  alluded  to  the  "  fool's- 
cap  livery,"  which  had  made  so  much  trouble 
for  the  cardinal,  Egmont  laughed  the  matter 
off,  as  a  mere  frolic  which  meant  nothing  at  all. 
After  abundant  flatteries  and  caresses,  Egmont 
was  finally  dismissed  with  despatches  for  the 
regent,  and  returned  to  the  Netherlands  highly 
satisfied.  Yet  he  had  obtained  not  a  single 
boon  for  his  distressed  country. 

The  king  declared  in  the  most  explicit  terms 
that  he  would  die  a  thousand  deaths  rather 
than  suffer  any  change  of  religion  in  his  do- 
minions. It  might,  indeed,  be  expedient  to 
devise  some  new  way  of  executing  heretics,  if 
possible  ;  not  by  any  means  for  the  sake  of  les- 
sening their  sufferings,  but  in  order  to  prevent 
any  fancied    glory  from  a  public  martyrdom. 


90  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

To  this  end,  he  advised  to  have  a  special  coun- 
cil; at  which  certain  bishops,  lawyers,  and  other 
learned  persons,  should  assist.  As  to  reforms  in 
the  general  administration  of  government,  he 
would  say  nothing  until  he  should  hear  from 
the  regent  herself. 

The  proposed  assembly  of  bishops  and  doc- 
tors, seigniors  and  deputies,  was  duly  sum- 
moned, to  deliberate  on  the  question  how  to 
put  heretics  to  death  ignominiously.  Now  the 
seigniors,  lawyers,  and  deputies  boldly  declared 
that  they  did  not  approve  of  putting  them  to 
death  at  all.  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn,  be- 
ing of  the  regular  council  of  state,  excused 
themselves  on  that  ground  from  sharing  in  the 
discussions.  The  council  deliberated  for  six 
days,  and  finally  concluded  to  report  that  no 
change  in  the  mode  of  executing  heretics  was 
required,  as  the  present  system  had  been  work- 
ing admirably  for  thirty-five  years.  Possibly 
some  regard  might  be  had  to  age  and  rank  in 
deciding  the  rigor  of  the  sentence.  And  in 
case  any  person  who  was  not  a  heretic  should 
somehow  fall  into  the  clutches  of  the  edicts,  he 


EGMONT'S   MISSION    TO   SPAIN.  91 

might  perhaps  be  whipped  with  rods,  fined,  or 
banished. 

This  was  the  sum  total  of  mercy  recom- 
mended by  the  theologians.  There  was  none 
at  all  for  the  heretical ;  and  even  the  orthodox 
might  sometimes  get  a  wholesome  chastisement 
by  way  of  preventive.  In  such  circumstances, 
it  must  have  been  really  discouraging  to  be 
obliged  to  exist  at  all.  Thrice  and  four  times 
happy  was  the  man  to  whom  it  happened  to 
expire  peacefully  in  his  bed ;  for  most  people 
could  confidently  look  forward  to  a  violent 
death,  some  day  or  other.  There  was  a  rea- 
sonable prospect  that  any  given  individual 
might  end  his  career  at  the  stake ;  for  even 
were  he  as  orthodox  as  His  Holiness  himself, 
some  kinsman  or  neighbor  might  be  suspected 
of  heresy,  and  then  woe  to  him  who  did  not 
turn  informer ! 

When  Philip  heard  of  the  complaints  against 
Peter  Titelmann,  he  sat  down  and  wrote  witli 
his  own  royal  hand  a  letter  to  that  zealous  in- 
quisitor, warmly  applauding  his  fidelity,  and 
exhorting  him   to   persevere    in   his  virtuous 


92  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

course,  which  Peter  accordingly  did.  The 
king  likewise  admonished  his  sister  the  regent 
to  take  no  heed  to  what  was  said  against  the 
holy  inquisition.  In  all  the  years  since  it  was 
first  planted  in  the  Netherlands,  there  had 
never  been  a  time  when  it  was  so  indispensable 
as  now ;  and  she  must  uphold  the  precious  in- 
stitution by  all  means  in  her  power. 

So  there  was  no  other  way  but  to  proclaim 
the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  edicts, 
and  the  inquisition,  in  every  market-place 
throughout  the  land.  Not  to  dp  it,  after  the 
king's  express  and  reiterated  commands,  would 
be  downright  rebellion;  and  nobody  was  yet  pre- 
pared for  that.  Even  Orange  declared  that 
there  was  no  other  alternative  ;  and  turning  to 
his  next  neighbor  at  the  council-board,  he  whis- 
pered, "  We  shall  now  witness  the  commence- 
ment of  no  ordinary  tragedy." 

Accordingly  the  proclamation  went  forth 
from  one  end  of  the  shuddering  land  to  the 
other.  Lest  anybody  should  forget  it,  it  was  to 
be  repeated  once  in  six  months  for  all  time  to 
come. 


EGMONT'S  MISSION   TO   SPAIN.  93 

There  had  been  much  smothered  indignation 
in  men's  hearts  before.  But  it  was  impossible 
to  smother  it  any  longer.  It  burst  forth  like  a 
Tolcano ;  it  flamed  up  to  heaven.  Business 
stood  still.  Every  foreign  merchant  and  arti- 
san was  in  haste  to  be  gone  from  the  doomed 
country.  Great  lords  and  statesmen  declared 
that  such  tyranny  could  no  longer  be  borne, 
and  a  few  of  them  openly  protested  that  they 
would  never  enforce  the  monstrous  decrees. 

In  fact,  the  province  of  Brabant  did  have  the 
courage  to  appeal  to  its  ancient  and  cherished 
charter  of  privileges,  the  "  Joyous  Entry." 
And  when  the  matter  came  before  the  council, 
they  were  obliged  to  admit  the  justice  of  the 
plea.  Marquis  Berghen  and  Baron  Montigny 
also  refused  to  aid  the  inquisition  by  any  au- 
thority of  theirs,  in  their  own  provinces.  Yet 
these  manly  protests  were  feeble  indeed  com- 
pared with  the  well-fortified  tyranny  against 
which  they  were  raised. 

Meanwhile,  amid  all  this  gloom  and  distress, 
there  occurred  two  memorable  weddings,  at- 
tended with  the  customary  pomp  and  festivity. 


94  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1565,  Baron  Montigny 
espoused  the  daughter  of  the  Prince  d'Espinoy. 
The  event  was  celebrated  by  a  grand  tourna- 
ment, in  which  Orange,  Horn,  and  Hoogstraa- 
•ten  challenged  all  comers,  and  held  their  posi- 
tion triumphantly  to  the  close.  Little  dreamed 
the  happy  bridegroom  of  the  dark  and  terrible 
fate  which  awaited  him  at  no  distant  day,  in 
the  dungeons  of  Simancas. 

The  other  wedding  was  that  of  the  regent's 
son,  young  Alexander  of  Parma,  and  the  beau- 
tiful Princess  of  Portugal.  It  took  place  in  No- 
vember, 1565,  in  the  court  chapel  at  Brussels. 
The  lovely  Donna  Maria  had  been  escorted  to 
the  Netherlands  by  a  fleet  sent  to  Lisbon  for 
the  purpose.  The  banquet  was  spread  in  the 
same  splendid  hall  of  the  ducal  palace  where 
Charles  V.  had  given  away  his  crown  ten  years 
before.  Not  long  afterwards,  a  tournament  was 
held  in  the  market-place,  followed  by  a  magni- 
ficent supper  in  the  Hotel  de  Yille.  This  same 
young  Prince  of  Parma  was  destined  to  have 
very  serious  dealings  with  the  Netherlands,  in 


EGMONT'S   MISSION    TO   SPAIN.  95 

behalf  of  his  royal  uncle,  before  twenty  years 
should  go  by. 

While  the  nobles  were  gathered  in  gay 
throngs  at  the  two  weddings,  deep  down  in  the 
souls  of  not  a  few  of  them  lay  grave  thoughts 
and  stern  resolves.  Mingling  thus  from  day 
to  day  during  the  prolonged*  festivities,  they 
snatched  opportunities  to  speak  of  matters 
which  it  was  not  safe  to  name  openly.  There 
were  some  who  had  in  them  "  the  stuff  of  which 
martyrs  are  made,'*  and  they  contrived  to  find 
each  other  out.  Everywhere  the  leaven  of  re- 
ligious liberty  was  at  work.  Men  who,  but  for 
the  persecution,  would  scarcely  have  bestowed 
a  thought  on  serious  themes,  were  beginning 
to  be  curious  about  these  new  doctrines,  for  the 
sake  of  which  thousands  were  so  willing  to  die. 
They  had  seen  men  take  each  other  by  the  hand 
and  walk  into  the  flames  with  unshrinking  step. 
They  had  heard  women  sing  a  song  of  triumph 
while  the  grave-digger  was  shoveling  the  earth 
upon  their  living  faces.  What  did  such  things 
mean  ?  If  tbere  was  truth  in  the  new  religion, 
they  had  a  right  to  believe  it ;  and  no  man  on 
earth  should  hinder  them. 


0±j 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE  BEGGARS. 

»N  the  wedding  day  of  Prince  Alexander 
of  Parma,  the  city  of  Antwerp  gave  a 
great  banquet  in  honor  of  the  event  then 
taking  place  at  Brussels.  Butlers,  cooks, 
and  confectioners  did  their  utmost ;  there  were 
splendid  decorations  and  loyal  speeches  in 
abundance  ;  and  altogether  it  was  a  very  mag- 
nificent affair.  There  was,  however,  a  certain 
citizen  of  Antwerp,  whose  youth  and  noble 
birth,  as  well  as  his  eminent  talents  and  learn- 
ing, would  have  fitted  him  to  grace  the  brilliant 
assembly,  who  was  not  there.  He  had  gone  to 
Brussels,  to  preside  in  a  gathering  of  quite  an- 
other sort.  This  young  man,  Francis  Junius  by 
name,  was  the  pastor  of  the  secret  congrega- 
tion of  French  Huguenots  in  Antwerp  ;  and  he 
was  on  this  day  to  meet  about  twenty  gentle- 

96  _ 


THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE   BEGGARS.  97 

men  in  Brussels,  at  the  Culemburg  House,  by 
appointment,  and  preach  a  sermon. 

The  palace  of  Count  Culemburg  was  destined 
to  become  memorable  by  its  associations  with 
more  than  one  important  event  of  those  times. 
It  stood  on  a  square  then  called  the  Horse-mar- 
ket,—  now  known  as  the  Little  Sablon, — in  the 
upper  part  of  the  city,  near  the  ducal  palace, 
and  among  the  mansions  of  the  chief  nobles. 
The  young  Huguenot  minister  who  preached 
there  that  day  had  already  attracted  the  notice 
of  the  authorities,  and  they  had  tried  in  vain 
to  lay  hands  on  him.  On  one  occasion,  he  had 
preached  a  sermon  in  an  apartment  from  whose 
windows  a  scene  was  visible  which  would  have 
made  most  men  falter.  Several  of  his  brother 
heretics  were  at  that  moment  being  burned 
alive  ;  yet,  amid  the  glare  of  the  blazing  fagots, 
the  young  pastor  calmly  stood  up  to  proclaim 
afresh  the  doctrines  for  which  they  were  about 
to  die. 

After  he  had  closed  his  discourse  at  Culem- 
burg House,  on  Parma's  wedding  day,  the  cir- 
cle of  nobles  who  were   there  assembled  sat 

7 


98  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

talking  gravely  of  the  sad  state  of  the  country, 
and  of  what  they  might  do  to  save  it  from  ruin. 
It  was  then  and  there  resolved  to  league  to- 
gether for  mutual  defence  against  the  "  bar- 
barous and  violent  inquisition." 

Nearly  at  the  same  time,  several  other  no- 
bles secretly  met  at  the  baths  of  Spa  ;  and  they 
also  determined  to  frame  a  society  for  the  same 
object.  The  document  was  soon  afterward 
formally  drawn  up  ;  probably  by  Philip  de  Mar- 
nix,  Lord  of  Saint  Aldegonde,  a  man  of  great 
learning,  talent,  and  piety,  who  was  afterward 
prominent  in  the  war.  The  original  paper  bore 
the  names  of  the  bold,  reckless  Brederode,  the 
hot-headed  and  fickle  Charles  Mansfeld,  and 
the  brave,  gentle,  pious  Louis  of  Nassau,  the 
young  brother  of  Orange.  Several  copies  were 
privately  circulated,  and  about  two  thousand 
signatures  were  enrolled  in  the  course  of  two 
months. 

This  celebrated  league,  or  "  compromise," 
as  it  is  oftener  called,  was  so  worded  that  pa- 
triotic Catholics  could  sign  it  as  well  as  Pro- 
testants.    It   professed   entire    loyalty   to   the 


THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE  BEGGARS.  99 

king,  but  unlimited  and  implacable  hostility  to 
the  inquisition.  The  signers  bound  themselves 
to  resist  and  oppose  that  hated  tribunal  to  the 
uttermost,  and  to  defend  each  other  from  its 
persecutions  with  their  fortunes  and  their  lives. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  did  not  join  the 
league  ;  not  for  want  of  sympathy  with  its  aim, 
but  because  he*  doubted  whether  this  was  a  good 
way  to  attempt  it.  Indeed,  the  young  leaguers 
never  expected  to  get  the  names  of  such  men 
as  Orange,  Egmont,  Berghen,  and  Montigny. 
The  members  were  almost  all  inexperienced 
and  hot-headed  young  nobles  ;  and  their  league 
proved  little  stronger  than  a  rope  of  sand.  Yet 
some  events  of  importance  were  connected  with 
its  brief  history. 

Early  in  March,  1566,  the  confederated  no- 
bles resolved  to  present  to  the  regent  a  peti- 
tion, or  "  request,"  in  regard  to  the  matter  of 
the  inquisition.  This  was  to  be  done  witli  con- 
siderable display,  by  Count  Brederode  in  per- 
son, at  the  head  of  three  hundred  gentlemen 
of  the  league.  Orange  feared  the  impetuous 
and  hasty  young  nobles  would  give  their  peti- 


100  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

tion  too  much  the  tone  of  a  menace.  He  there- 
fore endeavored  to  dissuade  them  from  rash 
language ;  and  through  his  influence  the  "  re- 
quest "  was  much  more  prudently  worded  than 
it  might  otherwise  have  been. 

A  rumor  of  what  was  about  to  be  done  soon 
came  to  the  ears  of  the  Duchess  Margaret.  As 
usual,  the  report  fitted  very  loosely  to  the  facts  ; 
and  the  way  in  which  it  was  brought  to  her  ren- 
dered it  only  the  more  alarming.  For  some 
time  she  had  been  very  uneasy  about  public 
affairs.  The  recent  proclamation  of  the  edicts 
and  decrees  had  aroused  so  great  an  excitement 
all  over  the  Netherlands  that  she  no  longer 
dared  allow  the  name  of  the  inquisition  to  pass 
her  lips.  The  grand  seigniors  Orange,  Egmont, 
Horn,  Berghen,  and  Montigny,  had  spoken 
pretty  plainly  on  the  subject.  As  for  helping  to 
burn  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  Netherlanders,  they 
would  not ;  they  would  sooner  resign  their  po- 
sitions as  stadtholders.  Nearly  all  the  govern- 
ors of  the  seventeen  provinces  said  the  same. 
The  business  was  likely  to  prove  so  odious,  not 
to  say  impracticable,  that  Margaret  bitterly  re- 


THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE   BEGGARS.  101 

gretted  having  been  obliged  to  undertake  it  at 
all. 

So  when  Count  Meghen  came  hurriedly  into 
the  council  one  day,  with  news  that  the  here- 
tics had  somehow  gathered  an  armed  force  of 
thirty -five  thousand  men,  Margaret  was  really 
alarmed.  The  count  went  on  to  inform  her 
that  within  a  few  days  fifteen  hundred  men-at- 
arms  would  appear  before  her  highness  with 
their  demands,  and  that  unless  she  should  con- 
cede all  they  wanted  they  would  resort  to  force 
without  delay.  Egmont  was  present,  and  said 
he  had  heard  the  same  report.  However,  Or- 
ange was  able  to  tell  what  were  the  actual  facts 
of  the  case.  Still,  the  duchess  was  greatly 
agitated.  Plainly,  things  were  coming  to  such 
a  pass  that  the  government  must  either  con- 
cede something,  or  sustain  its  decrees  by  force. 
Which  course  should  be  adopted,  was  now  the 
question. 

Meghen,  Aremberg,  and  Berlaymont,  who 
were  stiff  on  the  side  of  the  king  and  the  edicts, 
advised  to  shut  the  door  in  the  face  of  the  ex- 
pected petitioners.     Or,  if  that  would  not  do, 


102  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

let  troops  be  summoned  from  the  frontier,  and 
cut  the  leaguers  to  pieces  in  the  palace  itself. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  maintained  by  Or- 
ange that  inasmuch  as  the  humblest  subject  in 
the  land  had  the  right  to  offer  a  petition,  such 
a  body  of  gentlemen  ought  at  least  to  be 
treated  with  respect.  The  views  of  Orange  at 
length  carried  the  day. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  April,  1566, 
the  gentlemen  deputed  to  present  the  "  re- 
quest" assembled  at  the  Culemburg  House.  A 
little  before  noon  they  came  out,  walking  two 
by  two,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred.  The 
expectant  crowd,  swarming  on  every  side,  hailed 
them  with  tremendous  applause,  as  they  moved 
in  a  stately  procession  along  the  handsome 
street  leading  to  the  regent's  palace.  Most  of 
them  were  sons  of  ancient  and  honored  fami- 
lies. Every  one  in  the  long  procession,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  those  days,  was  magnifi- 
cently attired,  in  garments  of  velvet,  satin,  or 
damask,  and  decorated  with  lace,  embroid- 
ery, ostrich  plumes,  and  jewels.     Count  Brede- 


THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE    BEGGARS.  103 

rode,  arin-iu-arm  with  Count  Louis  of  Nassau, 
brought  up  the  rear. 

In  the  council  chamber  of  the  palace  sat 
Margaret  of  Parma,  surrounded  by  the  great 
nobles,  when  the  confederates  entered.  Count 
Brederode,  a  tall,  handsome  cavalier,  —  who 
was  descended  from  the  original  Counts  of  Hol- 
land, and  was  like  them  a  hard-fighting,  hard- 
drinking,  yet  generous-hearted  fellow,  —  now 
came  forward.  Bowing  low  to  her  highness  the 
regent,  he  made  a  brief  speech,  and  then  read 
aloud  the  "  request."  It  was  loyal  in  its  gen- 
eral tone,  but  spoke  in  strong  terms  of  the 
wrongs  and  miseries  inflicted  by  the  inquisition, 
and  implored  the  regent  to  send  an  envoy  to 
the  king  to  beg  that  the  edicts  might  be  re- 
pealed. In  the  mean  time,  they  requested  that 
the  holy  office  might  be  suspended,  till  the 
king's  will  should  be  known. 

After  a  short  silence  Margaret  replied,  with 
some  agitation  of  manner,  that  she  would  ad- 
vise with  her  councilors,  and  return  answer  at 
another  time.      The  leaguers   then  witltdrew, 


104  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

each    making   a   respectful    obeisance    to   the 
duchess  as  he  passed. 

When  they  had  gone,  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  debate  in  the  council-chamber.  The  duchess 
was  irritated  and  uneasy.  Orange  respectfully 
reminded  her  that  the  petitioners  were  loyal 
and  honorable  gentlemen,  who  honestly  desired 
the  good  of  the  country.  Count  Egmont, 
shrugging  his  shoulders,  observed  that  as  for 
himself  he  should  be  obliged  to  be  absent  from 
court  for  a  while  on  account  of  his  health  ;  as 
much  as  to  say  that  he  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  matter.  Berlaymont,  perceiving 
that  the  duchess  was  still  somewhat  agitated 
by  the  late  scene,  passionately  exclaimed, 
"  What,  madam  !  is  it  possible  that  your  high- 
ness can  entertain  fears  of  these  beggars  ?  Is 
it  not  obvious  what  manner  of  men  they  are  ? 
They  have  not  had  wisdom  enough  to  manage 
their  own  estates,  and  are  they  now  to  teach 
the  king  and  your  highness  how  to  govern  the 
country  ?  If  my  advice  were  taken,"  he  added 
with  an  oath,  "  their  petition  should  have  a 
cudgel  for  a  commentary,  and  we  would  make 


THE    LEAGUE   AND    THE   BEGGARS.  105 

them  go  clown  the  steps  of  the  palace  a  great 
deal  faster  than  they  mounted  them." 

It  was  not  long  before  all  Brussels  knew  that 
the  gentlemen  of  the  league  had  been  called 
"  beggars."  The  remark  had  been  overheard, 
perhaps  by  some  who  still  lingered  in  the  great 
hall  adjoining  the  council-chamber ;  indeed, 
Berlaymont  himself  repeated  the  epithet  else- 
where that  same  day.  He  never  heard  the  last 
of  it.  At  a  splendid  dinner  given  by  Brede- 
rode  in  the  Culemburg  House  to  his  associates, 
—  for  in  his  opinion  no  measure  could  well  be 
carried  without  considerable  feasting  and  ca- 
rousing,—  the  taunt  was  immortalized.  "  They 
called  us  beggars !  "  said  Brederode  goocl-hu- 
morcdly,  while  many  of  his  confederates  were 
hot  with  indignation.  "  Let  us  accept  the 
name.  We  will  contend  with  the  inquisition, 
but  remain  loyal  to  the  king,  even  till  compelled 
to  wear  the  beggar's  sack." 

He  then  ordered  a  page  to  bring  him  a  leath- 
ern wallet,  and  a  large  wooden  bowl,  such  as 
beggars  were  wont  to  carry  in  those  days. 
Having  hung  the  wallet  around   his  neck,  he 


106  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

filled  the  great  wooden  bowl  to  the  brim,  and 
drained  it  at  a  draught.  "  Long  live  the  beg- 
gars !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  wiped  his  beard. 
"  Long  live  the  beggars  !  "  responded  the  con- 
vivial crowd  with  uproarious  shouts,  as  they 
hastened  to  adopt  the  watchword  soon  to  be- 
come so  famous  both  on  land  and  sea.  The 
wallet  and  bowl  went  round ;  and  each  guest 
in  his  turn  drank  a  mighty  draught  to  the 
health  of  the  "  beggars." 

Then,  having  fastened  these  badges  of  their 
fraternity  to  a  pillar  in  the  banqueting  hall, 
each  of  the  "  beggars  "  in  turn  stood  under- 
neath, and  throwing  a  little  salt  into  his  goblet, 
repeated  a  rhyming  couplet  made  upon  the 
spot,  after  the  fashion  of  an  oath.* 

By  the  time  everybody  had  drank  the  great 
bowlfull  of  wine,  in  addition  to  the  usual  pota- 

*  "  Par  le  sel,  par  le  pain,  par  la  besache, 

Les  gueulx  ne  changeront,  quoy  qu'on  se  fache." 
Motley,  Vol.  I.  p.  522 
It  is  translated  thus : 

"  By  this  salt,  by  this  bread,  by  this  wallet  we  swear, 
These  beggars  ne'er  will  change,  though  all  the  world  should 
stare." 


THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE   BEGGARS.  107 

tions,  there  was  an  immense  uproar.  Three 
hundred  young  fellows  who  were  more  than 
half  drunk  would  naturally  make  no  small 
amount  of  disturbance.  •  Some  of  them  even 
turned  their  coats  and  caps  inside  out,  and 
danced  upon  the  chairs  and  tables,  screaming 
and  yelling  like  so  many  madmen. 

Just  when  this  disgraceful  uproar  was*  at  its 
hight,  the  Prince  of  Orange  came  in,  with 
Count  Egmont  and  Count  Horn.  They  were 
on  their  way  to  the  council,  and  hearing  the 
noise,  had  stopped  in  order  to  persuade  the 
revelers  to  disperse.  Immediately  they  were 
surrounded  by  the  drunken  crew,  and  forced  to 
drain  a  cup  "  to  the  king  and  the  beggars." 
Of  course  they  did  not  understand  the  new 
watchword.  But  though  they  staid  only  an  in- 
stant, not  even  sitting  down,  it  was  afterward 
laid  to  the  charge  of  Count  Horn,  as  a  deadly 
crime,  that  he  had  been  present  at  the  famous 
banquet  of  Culemburg  House. 

Not  content  with  the  beggars'  name  and 
badges,  the  young  nobles  of  the  league  resolved 
to  wear  the  beggars'  garb  likewise.     Putting 


108  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

aside  velvet  and  gold  lace,  they  had  their  gar- 
ments made  of  coarse  gray  cloth,  and  wore 
common  felt  hats.  They  had  medals  struck, 
bearing  on  one  side  the  head  of  Philip  II.  and 
on  the  other  two  hands  clasped  within  a  wallet, 
with  the  motto,  "  Faithful  to  the  king,  even  to 
wearing  the  beggar's  sack."  These  served  as 
buttons  to  their  hats,  or  were  hung  around 
their  necks. 

Before  this  banquet  took  place,  the  duchess 
had  given  her  reply  to  the  request.  It  was 
certainly  as  favorable  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected ;  yet  it  amounted  to  nothing,  after  all. 
Margaret  promised  to  send  an  envoy  to  the 
king,  as  they  had  requested.  She  added  that 
she  had  already  commenced  a  plan  for  moderat- 
ing the  edicts,  in  which  she  was  being  assisted 
by  many  eminent  persons.  She  had  not  power 
to  suspend  the  inquisition  ;  but  she  would  com- 
mand all  the  inquisitors  to  conduct  themselves 
modestly  and  discreetly  in  their  office,  and  she 
hoped  the  petitioners  on  their  part  would  do 
the  same.  All  this  sounded  very  well.  Yet 
we    doubt   whether  it   was   very   clear  to  the 


THE   LEAGUE   AND    THE   BEGGARS.  109 

leaguers,  or  to  the  people  in  general,  how  one 
might  "  modestly  and  discreetly  "  burn  an  in- 
nocent man. 

When  the  confederates  left  Brussels,  Brede- 
rode  was  escorted  by  a  band  of  these  cavaliers 
as  far  as  Antwerp.  An  immense  crowd  gath- 
ered around  the  hotel  where  "  the  great  beg- 
gar" had  taken  lodgings  for  the  night.  Bre- 
derode  showed  himself  at  a  window,  with  his 
wallet  and  bowl,  and  bade  the  multitude  hold 
up  their  hands,  while  he  drank  to  the  suc- 
cess of  their  struggle  against  the  inquisition. 
Amid  vociferous  cheers  he  drained  the  huge 
bowl,  and  the  crowd  went  away  in  high  good- 
humor. 

It  happened  to  be  Good  Friday  when  Bre- 
derode  was  at  Antwerp.  Shortly  after,  a  re- 
port went  abroad  that  on  that  sacred  day  he 
had  been  guilty  of  a  most  heathenish  deed,  — 
nothing  less  than  eating  meat !  It  is  almost 
comical  to  see  how  atrocious  such  an  act  was 
deemed,  not  by  priests  and  devotees  merely, 
but  by  the  dissipated  Brederode  himself.  He 
repelled  the  charge  witli  the  utmost  vehemence 


110  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

of  indignation.  "  They  who  have  told  madame 
that  we  ate  meat  in  Antwerp,"  wrote  he  to 
Count  Louis,  "  have  lied  wickedly  and  misera- 
bly, twenty-four  feet  down  in  their  throats." 
At  such  "  gnats  "  the  Roman  Catholics  of  those 
days  used  to  strain ;  though  upon  occasion 
they  would  swallow  a  very  respectable  "  camel," 
provided  it  were  lubricated  beforehand  by  an 
indulgence,  or  digested  by  the  help  of  a  subse- 
quent penance. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE   FIELD-PREACHING. 


HILE  some  people  were  flattering  them- 
selves that  the  "  request"  would  doubt- 
less result  in  smoothing  off  the  disagree- 
able  corners  of  the  edicts  and  bringing 
the  career  of  the  inquisition  to  a  speedy  end,  a 
little  circumstance  occurred  which  must  have 
overshadowed  these  bright  prospects  somewhat. 
At  Oudenarde,  the  birthplace  of  the  Duchess 
Margaret,  on  May  30th,  15G;3,  a  nameless 
"  somebody  "  had  snatched  the  holy  wafer  from 
the  hands  of  the  priest,  and  had  thrown  it 
upon  the  ground.  It  was  the  same  deed  which 
had  been  perpetrated  at  Christmas  by  Bertrand 
le  Bias  of  Tournay.  Margaret  herself  attended 
to  this  case,  and  meted  out  to  the  criminal 
what  she  considered  "  rigorous  and  exemplary 

justice."     His  right  hand  was  first  cut  off,  af- 

111 


112  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ter  which,  having  been  fastened  to  the  stake, 
he  was  burned  to  death  over  a  slow  fire.  "  He 
was  fortunately  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  in  torment,"  says  Motley ;  "  but  he  per- 
sisted in  his  opinions,  and  called  on  God  for 
support,  to  his  last  breath." 

Of  course  this  might  be  supposed  a  model 
execution,  since  it  took  place  under  the  orders 
of  the  recent  herself.  This  was  doing  the 
thing  "  modestly  and  discreetly."  Yet  people 
could  not  discover  that  it  was  so  very  different 
from  Peter  Titelmann's  mode  of  procedure. 
Apparently  the  amount  of  modesty  and  discre- 
tion involved  was  quite  too  small  to  be  percep- 
tible to  the  victim.  However,  since  the  privy 
council,  assisted  by  thirteen  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Fleece,  was  hard  at  work  to  moderate 
the  edicts,  people  still  hoped  something  would 
come  of  it  in  the  course  of  time. 

At  last  the  long-desired  "  moderation"  was 
presented  to  the  anxious  public,  in  fifty-three 
articles.  Certainly  there  was  room  for  a  good 
deal  of  "moderation"  in  a  document  of  such 
length.     But   upon    reading   it,   it  was   foutfd 


THE   FIELD-PREACHING.  113 

that  the  proposed  mercy  had  been  spread  out 
very  thin.  There  was  just  the  slightest  possi- 
ble film  of  gold,  covering  a  vast  deal  of  iron. 
Not  the  smallest  grain  of  toleration  was  ac- 
corded to  heretics  of  any  sort.  They  had  sim- 
ply the  privilege  of  being  strangled,  rather 
than  burned  alive,  if  that  would  be  any  great 
consideration.  Should  they  abjure  their  errors, 
they  might  be  further  indulged  with  being  be- 
headed, rather  than  strangled.  In  either  case, 
however,  their  whole  property  was  to  be  confis- 
cated. 

The  "  moderation "  professed  to  deal  very 
leniently  with  those  whom  it  called  the  "  mis- 
led." But  it  was  hard  to  say  whom  that  fa- 
vored category  might  include,  so  multitudinous 
were  the  "  metes  and  bounds  "  by  which  the 
supposed  mercy  was  hedged  in.  If  there  were 
a  heretic  who  did  not  talk  about  religious  sub- 
jects, nor  read  the  Scriptures  or  other  hereti- 
cal books,  nor  attend  public  or  secret  conven- 
ticles, nor  have  any  act  of  the  perverse  reli- 
gion committed  in  his  house,  nor  harbor  any- 
body who  did,  —  such  a  one  was   permitted  to 


114  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

abjure  his  heresy  before  his  bishop,  and  be  par- 
doned for  the  first  offense.  If  obstinate,  he 
was  to  be  banished.  In  short,  a  heretic  not 
heretical,  a  criminal  not  guilty,  might  possibly 
be  pardoned,  —  and  nobody  else. 

This  was  the  "moderation."  Yery  natu- 
rally, the  disappointed  populace  took  to  calling 
it  the  mur  deration,  by  a  petty  quibble  which 
is  the  same  in  the  language  of  the  Low  Coun- 
tries as*  in  ours.  The  document  was  formally 
submitted  to  the  various  provinces  for  their 
acceptance.  But  the  Netherlander  considered 
it  not  worth  being  adopted ;  while  the  king, 
on  the  other  hand,  declared  that  it  was  alto- 
gether too  lenient.  Consequently  it  never  be- 
came a  law. 

Meanwhile,  Marquis  Berghen  and  Baron 
Montigny  had  been  appointed  envoys  to  Mad- 
rid, as  Count  Egmont  declined  going  thither  a 
second  time.  Indeed,  the  two  nobles  had  been 
somewhat  reluctant  to  accept  the  mission, 
though  they  little  dreamed  that  they  were  go- 
ing to  make  their  graves  in  Spain.  They  were 
commissioned  to  procure  the  mitigation  of  the 


THE   FIELD-PREACHING.  115 

edicts,  and  the  withdrawal  of  the  inquisition. 
Yet  Margaret  very  well  knew  that  the  king 
was  immutably  determined  never  to  grant  ei- 
ther. He  had  expressly  told  her  so  in  his  se- 
cret letters.  However,  it  suited  Philip  to  have 
the  envoys  sent ;  for  so  long  as  the  people 
could  be  kept  in  hopes  of  better  days,  there 
would  be  little  danger  of  an  open  revolt.  Mon- 
tigny  set  out  about  the  last  of"  May,  1566  ;  but 
a  slight  accident  detained  Berghen  in  Brussels 
some  weeks  longer.  The  marquis  was  gra- 
ciously received  by  the  king,  and  assured  that 
the  matter  should  be  considered.  There  it 
stood  still ;  and  Montigny  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  wait. 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that  the  field-preach- 
ing began  in  the  Netherlands.  The  persecu- 
tion had  been  allowed  to  slacken  a  little  ;  and 
there  had  been  some  hope  that  the  edicts 
would  be  made  less  severe:  More  than  all,  in 
many  hearts  there  was  an  importunate  thirst 
for  hearing  the  word  of  God.  So  immense 
multitudes,  embracing  not  only  peasants,  but 
also  burghers  and  gentlemen,  used  to  assemble 


116  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

in  the  open  fields  to  hear  sermons  and  sing 
hymns.  No  doubt  it  was  a  bold  thing  to  do ; 
for  the  edicts  still  stood  fast  in  their  cruel 
strength,  and  the  inquisition  was  busy  about 
its  bloody  work  every  day.  Yet  it  would  not 
have  been  easy  to  arrest  seven  or  eight  thou- 
sand persons  at  once,  especially  as  they  used  to 
go  armed,  and  there  were  no  Spanish  forces  in 
the  country  then.  Accordingly  the  people 
went  boldly  to  those  field-meetings  all  summer. 
And  right  boldly,  too,  did  their  preachers  stand 
up  in  the  midst  to  proclaim  the  simple  gospel 
of  Christ,  though  a  price  had  been  publicly  set 
upon  their  heads.  The  regent  had  offered 
seven  hundred  crowns  for  a  preacher,  either 
dead  or  alive.  Often  a  converted  priest  was 
the  teacher  of  the  eager  throng ;  sometimes  it 
was  a  poor  tradesman,  unlettered  and  un- 
known. But  in  the  simple  words  they  uttered 
there  was  a  mysterious  power,  so  strange,  so 
sweet,  so  solemn,  that  men  felt  it  must  be 
divine. 

One  midsummer  night,  at  eleven  o'clock,  six 
thousand  people  gathered  at  the  bridge  of  Er- 


THE   FIELD-PREACHING.  117 

nonville  near  Tou may,  to  hear  Ambrose  Wille. 
He  was  a  man  who  had  learned  his  theology  at 
the  feet  of  Calvin.  There  was  a  price  set  spe- 
cially on  his  head  ;  but  he  felt  no  fear.  On  the 
same  spot,  two  days  later,  ten  thousand  people 
listened  to  the  preaching  of  Peregrine  La 
Grange,  a  brave,  noble,  eloquent  French  pastor. 
It  is  related  that  he  used  to  gallop  boldly  to 
his  appointed  place  of  preaching,  and  to  fire  a 
pistol  as  a  signal  to  his  vast  audience  that  he 
was  ready  to  begin  tlie  service. 

The  governor  of  Tournay  sent  out  a  procla- 
mation warning  the  people  that  it  was  death 
for  man,  woman,  or  child  to  attend  those  meet- 
ings ;  but  they  only  went  so  much  the  more. 
A  week  later,  on  Sunday,  the  7th  of  July, 
twenty  thousand  persons  stood  at  that  same 
bridge  of  Ernonville,  to  hear  another  sermon 
from  the  Calvinist,  Ambrose  Wille.  Every 
third  man  carried  a  weapon  of  some  sort. 
There  were  gentlemen  and  burghers  armed 
with  pistols,  poignards,  and  swords,  and  peas- 
ants with  pitch-forks  and  clubs.  A  hundred 
mounted  troopers  escorted  the  preacher  to  his 


118  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

rude  pulpit.  It  seemed  as  if  all  Tournay  had 
joined  that  assembly.  The  duchess  issued  her 
proclamations  in  vain.  She  had  no  Spanish 
troops  to  back  them  ;  and  as  for  the  train-bands 
of  Tournay,  they  had  all  gone  to  the  preaching 
themselves. 

So  it  was  all  over  Flanders.  Those  were 
camp-meetings  in  the  strictest  sense ;  for  the 
people  barricaded  their  ground  with  upturned 
wagons,  branches  of  trees,  and  whatever  came 
to  hand.  Guards  of  horsemen  performed 
picket  duty  on  the  neighboring  highways,  and 
scouts  traversed  the  surrounding  country  to 
give  timely  warning  of  danger  at  hand. 

Less  than  a  month  later,  there  was  a  great 
field-meeting  near  Harlem,  in  the  province  of 
Holland.  It  was  the  first  which  had  taken 
place  in  that  part  of  the  country.  On  the  pre- 
ceding day,  a  great  multitude  of  people  from 
the  surrounding  region  came  pouring  into  Har- 
lem, or  encamped  outside  the  walls,  on  the  spot 
where  the  meeting  was  to  be  held.  The  magis- 
trates were  almost  frantic  with  anxiety  and 
distress.     It  would   never   do   to  countenance 


THE   FIELD-PREACHING.  119 

the  fanatical  movement,  but  how  to  suppress 
it  they  did  not  know.  Like  most  other  cities 
of  those  days,  Harlem  was  surrounded  by  walls 
and  a  moat.  The  authorities  kept  the  gates 
locked,  next  morning,  in  order  that  no  one 
might  get  out  to  hear  the  sermon.  But  the 
men  who  had  come  so  many  miles  to  attend  the 
meeting  were  not  easily  to  be  hindered ;  and 
they  climbed  over  the  walls  and  swam  the 
moat.  Finally,  when  the  city  officers  found 
they  must  either  have  a  mob  within  the  walls 
or  a  meeting  outside,  they  unlocked  the  gates, 
and  all  Harlem  poured  forth  in  one  simulta- 
neous rush. 

There  were  tens  of  thousands  present,  but  all 
was  quiet  and  orderly.  We  quote  from  Mot- 
ley's account  of  this  ,  memorable  gathering. 
"  The  women,  of  whom  there  were  many,  were 
placed  next  the  pulpit,  which  on  this  occasion 
was  formed  of  a  couple  of  spears  thrust  into  the 
earth,  sustaining  a  cross-piece,  against  which 
the  preacher  might  lean  his  back.  The  services 
commenced  with  the  singing  of  a  psalm  by  the 
whole  vast  assemblage No  anthem  from 


120  W1LLTAM    THE   SILENT. 

the  world-renowned  organ  of  that  ancient  city 
ever  awakened  more  lofty  emotions  than  did 
those  ten  thousand  human  voices  ringing  from 
the  grassy  meadows  in  that  fervid  midsummer 
noon.  When  all  was  silent  again,  the  preacher 
rose  ;  a  little,  meager  man,  who  looked  as  if  he 
might  rather  melt  away  beneath  the  blazing 
sunshine  of  July,  than  hold  the  multitude  en- 
chained four  uninterrupted  hours  long,  by  the 
magic  of  his  tongue.  His  text  was  the  eighth, 
ninth,  and  tenth  verses  of  the  second  chapter 
of  Ephesians  ;  *  and  as  the  slender  monk  spoke 
to  his  simple  audience  of  God's  grace,  and  of  faith 
in  Jesus,  who  had  descended  from  above  to  save 
the  lowliest,  if  they  would  put  their  trust  in 
him,  his  hearers  were  alternately  exalted  with 
fervor  or  melted  into  tears.  He  prayed  for 
all  conditions  of  men,  —  for  themselves,  their 
friends,  their  enemies,  for  the  government  which 
had  persecuted  them,  for  the  king  whose  face 
was  turned  upon  them  in  anger.  At  times,  ac- 
cording to  one  who  was  present,  not  a  dry  eye 
was  to  be  seen  in  the  crowd.     When  the  minis- 

*  "  For  by  grace  are  we  saved,  through  faith,"  etc. 


THE   FIELD-PREACHIXG.  121 

ter  had  finished,  he  left  his  congregation  ab- 
ruptly, for  he  had  to  travel  all  night  to  reach 
Alkmaar,  where  he  was  to  preach  upon  the  fol- 
lowing day." 

The  duchess  was  painfully  anxious  about 
these  field-meetings.  We  may  suppose  it  was 
not  simply  because  it  was  heresy  which  these 
immense  crowds  thronged  to  hear.  Such  gath- 
erings were  sufficiently  formidable  merely  from 
their  vast  numbers.  Who  could  tell  what  a 
mob  of  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  fanatics 
might  take  a  fancy  to  do  ?  Suppose  the  men 
who  had  seen  their  own  brothers  or  children 
burnt  at  the  state  for  their  faith  should  in  their 
turn  lay  hands  on  a  few  priests  and  inquisitors, 
and  burn  them  for  their  works.  Could  anybody 
prevent  it  ?  She  had  no  foreign  troops.  She 
had  neither  means  nor  authority  to  raise  forces. 
Were  she  to  attempt  it,  the  king  might  be  dis- 
pleased, and  the  people  provoked  to  take  up 
arms  in  good  earnest.  If  they  chose,  they 
could  raise  ten  companies  to  her  one.  No  won- 
der the  regent  felt  much  as  if  a  mine  were 
ready  to  explode  beneath  her  feet. 


122  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

Numerous  field-meetings  had  been  held  near 
Antwerp,  some  of  them  numbering  fifteen  or 
twenty  thousand  hearers,  not  a  few  of  whom 
were  said  to  be  of  "  the  best  and  wealthiest  in 
the  town."  In  this  condition  of  affairs,  the 
sincere  and  intelligent  friends  of  the  Reforma- 
tion were  embarrassed  by  the  presence  at  Ant- 
werp of  Meghen  and  Aremberg,  —  both  strong 
partizans  of  the  king,  —  and  by  that  of  Brede- 
rode,  "  the  great  beggar."  It  was  suspected 
that  the  two  royalists  meant  by  some  means  to 
introduce  a  garrison  into  the  city,  in  order  to 
overawe  the  people.  And,  on  the  other  hand, 
Brederode  was  sure  to  make  them  trouble  by 
his  wild  carousals  and  reckless  words,  though 
he  was  of  their  own  party.  At  length  the 
magistrates  themselves  implored  Margaret  to 
command  all  the  three  to  quit  Antwerp,  since 
there  would  be  continual  danger  of  some 
tumult  so  long  as  they  remained.  They  pre- 
ferred not  to  have  any  garrison,  but  earnestly 
entreated  the  duchess  to  send  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  their  hereditary  burgrave,  to  quiet  the 


THE   FIELD-PREACHING.  123 

agitated  city.  If  anybody  in  the  country  could 
set  matters  right,  he  was  the  man. 

That  was  precisely  the  opinion  of  the  regent 
herself.  She  joined  her  anxious  entreaties  to 
those  of  the  Antwerp  magistrates,  and  the 
prince  consented  to  come.  It  was  near  the 
middle  of  July  when  he  arrived.  Half  the 
population  of  the  city  came  out  to  welcome 
him,  lining  the  road  by  which  he  approached, 
for  miles,  with  a  joyful  throng.  The  ramparts, 
the  gates,  the  roofs,  swarmed  with  eager  crowds, 
shouting  and  cheering  as  the  prince  rode 
through  the  streets. 

The  senators  in  a  body  escorted  him  to  the 
hotel  which  had  been  prepared  for  his  recep- 
tion. A  long  consultation  was  immediately 
held.  The  city  had  been  for  days  on  the  brink 
of  a  riot,  if  not  of  an  open  revolt ;  and  it  was 
no  slight  task  to  make  all  things  tranquil  and 
secure.  Night  and  day  the  prince  labored, 
making  himself  acquainted  with  all  classes  of 
citizens,  and  doing  his  utmost  to  restore  public 
harmony  and  confidence.  It  was  soon  decided 
to  keep  the  Protestant  meetings  out  of  the  city 


124  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

itself,  but  to  take  no  notice  of  the  gatherings 
in  the  suburbs,  so  long  as  they  were  quiet  and 
orderly. 

From  the  regent  down  to  the  humblest  of  the 
people,  everybody  felt  that  William  of  Orange 
had  done  what  probably  no  other  person  could 
have  accomplished.  Even  Philip  wrote  him  a 
letter  of  thanks,  and  professed  the  utmost  con- 
fidence in  his  loyalty  and  devotion.  The  prince 
well  knew  how  little  all  these  protestations  were 
wortli ;  but  still  he  labored  on,  in  spite  of  op- 
posers  who  tried  to  undo  all  he  had  been  able 
to  effect.  Some  person  started  a  rumor  that 
troops  were  mustering  to  put  down  the  field- 
meetings  by  force,  when  at  once  their  numbers 
began  to  increase  again,  and  the  hearers  armed 
themselves  more  carefully  than  ever.  One  day 
a  church  dignitary  began  to  dispute  with  a 
camp-meeting  preacher,  and  stirred  up  so 
much  excitement  in  the  crowd  that  they  gave 
the  meddlesome  priest  a  sound  cudgeling  for 
his  pains.  Yet  there  was  no  general  outbreak 
so  long  as  William  of  Orange  remained  in  Ant- 
werp, 


THE    FIELD-PREACHFXG.  125 

The  young  nobles  of  the  league  were  at  pres- 
ent causing  anxiety  by  certain  rash  movements  ; 
and  the  regent  desired  Orange  and  Egmont  to 
confer  with  them  on  the  subject.  It  was  in 
Tain  that  these  seigniors  endeavored  to  per- 
suade the  confederates  to  wait  patiently  till  the 
envoys  in  Spain  could  have  time  to  arrange 
matters.  The  hot-headed  young  nobles  de- 
clared that  the  government  was  the  party  in 
fault,  not  they.  Soon  after  this  conference, 
Louis  of  Nassau,  with  twelve  associates,  pre- 
sented to  the  duchess  a  memorial  in  the  name 
of  the  league.  Its  bold  and  haughty  tone  gave 
great  offense  to  her  highness,  who  of  course 
did  not  gratify  them  with  such  a  reply  as  they 
desired. 


CHAPTER   X 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING. 


'HILE  Philip  was  leisurely  reflecting  on 
yfzL  ^ne  asPe°t  of  affairs  in  his  Netherland 


provinces,  and  Margaret  was  anxiously 
looking  about  her  for  means  to  quell  the 
rising  commotion,  suddenly  there  came  a  great 
wave  of  popular  excitement  that  swept  every- 
thing before  it.  Whence  or  why  it  arose  is 
not  very  easy  to  explain.  Doubtless  the  Nether- 
landers  had  suffered  enough,  in  all  these  years 
of  anguish,  to  make  them  furious  at  last.  But 
the  mystery  is  that  instead  of  turning  upon 
their  oppressors,  they  wreaked  their  indigna- 
tion upon  images  alone. 

There  were  a  great  many  splendid  churches 
and  monasteries  all  over  the  Netherlands. 
Whatever  art  could  do,  whatever  wealth  could 
procure,  had  been  lavished  upon  temples  of 

126 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  127 

worship.  To  our  eyes,  the  vast  number  of 
costly  paintings  and  exquisite  statues  with 
which  these  edifices  were  filled  would  have 
given  them  the  air  of  stately  galleries  of  art, 
rather  than  of  churches.  But  in  the  Low 
Countries  nobody  had  ever  seen  it  otherwise. 
It  was  a  matter  of  course  that  the  churches 
should  be  thus  adorned.  Indeed,  otherwise 
they  would  not  have  seemed  to  them  like 
churches  at  all.  For  many  generations,  mo- 
thers had  taught  their  children  to  adore  the 
pictured  or  sculptured  representations  of  Christ 
and  the  saints.  This  makes  it  seem  only  the 
more  surprising  that  when,  after  long  endur- 
ance of  inexpressible  wrongs,  an  outbreak  did 
at  last  occur,  it  should  have  fallen  upon  the 
consecrated  images,  rather  than  upon  the  living 
persecutors.     Yet  so  it  was. 

The  case  of  Bertrand  le  Bias,  and  that  of 
the  obscure  weaver  of  Oudenarde,  had  .already 
manifested  the  feelings  of  the  reformers  tow- 
ard rites  which  they  thought  idolatrous.  The 
"  image-breaking  "  commenced  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1566,  at  Saint  Omer  in  Flanders.  The 


128  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

same  mob  immediately  proceeded  to  sack  the 
cathedral  of  Ypres.  There  were  fears  of  a 
similar  tumult  at  Antwerp ;  and  on  that  ac- 
count the  prince  was  implored  to  delay  return- 
ing to  Brussels,  whither  he  had  just  been  sum- 
moned by  the  duchess,  until  after  the  festival 
of  the  "  Ommegang,"  on  the  18th  of  August. 

There  were  many  strangers  in  Antwerp  who 
had  come  to  the  city  on  account  of  the  festival, 
and  this  rendered  a  tumult  only  the  more  pro-- 
bable.  The  ceremonies  of  the  "  Ommegang,,, 
furthermore,  were  of  the  sort  most  likely  to 
disgust  and  exasperate  those  who  had  re- 
nounced image-worship. 

Upon  the  appointed  day,  a  great  procession 
was  formed  at  the  cathedral,  as  was  customary. 
It  embraced  all' the  military  companies  of  the 
city,  the  literary  clubs,  the  various  guilds  of 
artisans,  and  the  religious  fraternities.  Its 
object  was  to  parade  through  the  city  a  colossal 
and  richly-decorated  image  of  the  Yirgin.  The 
glittering  idol  was  borne  at  the  head  of  the 
great  procession,  upon  the  shoulders  of  her 
worshipers,  amid  the  music  of  trumpets  and 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  129 

drums,  as  if  to  repeat  in  miniature  the  scene 
of  Nebuchadnezzar's  golden  image.  As  the 
splendid  pageant  passed  by,  the  populace  looked 
on  with  a  contempt  which  some  did  not  try  to 
conceal.  "  May  ken  !  Mayken  !  "  (little  Mary) 
cried  the  scoffing  rabble  that  hung  upon  the 
rear  of  the  procession,  "  your  hour  is  come ! 
This  is  your  last  promenade.  The  city  is  tired 
of  you."  Some  threw  stones,  some  hissed  and 
groaned,  but  no  actual  violence  was  attempted. 
When  the  usual  round  had  been  hurriedly  gone 
through,  people  felt  relieved.  The  affair  had 
passed  off  better  than  was  expected. 

But  the  guardians  of  "  little  Mary  "  did  not 
venture  to  leave  the  image  standing  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  cathedral,  as  was  customary  during 
the  festival  week,  lest  it  should  come  to  harm. 
So  they  placed  it  behind  an  iron  railing,  within 
the  choir.  The  next  day  there  was  a  great 
crowd  there.  They  were  not  long  in  discover- 
ing where  "  Mayken  "  had  been  put,  and  guess- 
ing the  reason  why.  The  little  ragged  boys 
swarmed  around  the  railing  with  taunts  and 
jeers.     "  Mayken  !  Mayken  !  "  they  mockingly 


130  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

cried,  "  art  thou  terrified  so  soon  ?  Hast  flown 
to  thy  nest  so  early  ?  Dost  think  thyself  be- 
yond the  reach  of  mischief?  Beware,  Mayken  ! 
thine  hour  is  fast  approaching  !  " 

Thus  the  rabble  went  from  one  shrine  to 
another,  through  the  magnificent  cathedral, 
scoffing  at  picture  and  statue,  crucifix  and  altar. 
Then  one  of  the  vagabond  crowd,  all  tattered 
as  he  was,  ascended  into  the  pulpit,  and  open- 
ing a  volume  lying  there,  began  to  mock  the 
preaching  of  the  monks.  Some  cheered  him 
on,  well  pleased  with  the  coarse  and  vulgar 
caricature  of  a  sermon.  Others  cried  u  shame ! " 
and  tried  to  pull  him  down  by  the  legs.  In  the 
uproar  that  followed,  daggers  were  drawn,  and 
shots  fired.  But  at  last  the  mob  was  driven 
out,  and  the  doors  closed  for  the  night. 

Of  course,  tidings  of  this  disturbance  were 
quickly  carried  to  the  senate  of  Antwerp,  then 
in  session  at  the  Hotel  de  Yille,  or  city  hall. 
What  was  to  be  done  ?  It  was  frightful  to  have 
such  things  going  on,  especially  as  nobody 
could  say  where  they  would  stop.  Yet  the 
grave  senators  seemed  to  be  as  helpless  as  chil- 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  131 

dren  in  this  emergency.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
had  gone,  and  they  felt  as  if  there  was  no  wis- 
dom nor  authority  remaining  among  them. 
The  mob  was  almost  certain  to  rise,  and  how 
could  they  prevent  its  sweeping  everything  be- 
fore it  ?  As  for  proclamations,  these  were  an 
old  story  already.  The  ward-militia  might  be 
called  out  to  preserve  order,  —  only  that  no- 
body could  tell  whether  they  would  not  join  the 
mob  instead  of  putting  it  down.  Perhaps  they 
could  send  for  hired  soldiers ;  yet  such  a  step 
might  make  the  people  even  more  angry  and 
reckless  than  they  were  already.  Finally  they 
resolved  to  do  nothing  at  all,  in  hopes  that 
matters  would  somehow  right  themselves  be- 
fore morning. 

We  hope  the  worthy  senators  had  a  good 
night's  rest,  in  spite  of  their  perturbation  ;  for 
they  were  destined  to  find  no  repose  on  the 
night  following.  The  cathedral  was  early  filled 
with  a  savage,  angry  throng,  who  looked  capa- 
ble of  almost  any  outrage.  They  well  knew 
that  the  authorities  had  done  nothing,  and 
were  only  the  bolder  on  that  account. 


132  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

This  celebrated  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  was 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  in  Europe,  being 
second  only  to  Saint  Peter's  at  Rome.  It  was 
commenced  in  the  year  1124 ;  but  ij,  was  not 
until  the  fourteenth  century  that  the  greater 
part  of  it  was  erected.  The  length  of  the  edi- 
fice was  five  hundred  feet,  and  the  hight  of  the 
spire  was  nearly  the  same.  It  had  taken  a 
whole  century  to  rear  that  spire  alone,  and  it 
was  not  until  within  the  memory  of  persons 
then  living  that  the  beautiful  front  and  its 
tower  were  completed. 

Within,  the  vast  edifice  was  almost  a  mira- 
cle of  splendor  and  beauty.  To  walk  in  its 
magnificent  aisles,  and  gaze  down  the  endless 
vistas  opening  between  rows  of  stately  columns, 
here  shadowed  by  a  "  dim,  religious  gloom," 
there  lighted  up  with  the  splendor  of  fairy-land 
by  rays  streaming  through  some  richly-painted 
window,  to  behold  the  wonderful  gifts  of  art 
and  wealth  which  adorned  pillar  and  arch  and 
shrine,  one  would  have  pronounced  it  incredi- 
ble that  men  whose  religious  feelings  had  been 
entwined  about  these   beautiful   objects   from 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  133 

their  infancy  could  destroy  them  with  their 
own  hands.  But  the  magnificent  worship  of 
the  Roman  church  had  a  dark  and  bloody  side. 
It  was  difficult  for  one  living  in  those  days  to 
look  at  altars  and  confessionals,  crucifixes  and 
holy  relics,  without  being  reminded  of  dungeons, 
tortures,  martyrdoms.  And  sometimes,  as  now, 
these  latter  associations  were  uppermost. 

The  mob  seemed  not  to  have  had  any  defi- 
nite purpose  in  assembling  at  this  time,  how- 
ever ;  for  they  did  nothing  worse  than  to  jeer 
at  the  image  of  the  Virgin,  and  shout,  "  Long 
live  the  beggars  !  "  for  several  hours.  Still  the 
crowd  continued  to  increase,  and  at  length  a 
very  trifling  incident,  like  a  spark  in  a  powder 
magazine,  brought  on  the  fatal  explosion. 

There  was  an  old  woman  sitting  on  the  steps 
of  the  cathedral,  selling  wax  tapers  and  wafers, 
as  she  had  been  wont  to  do  for  years.  In  mere 
wantonness,  some  of  the  rabble  began  to  ban- 
ter and  tease  her,  mocking  at  her  consecrated 
candles,  and  telling  her  that  there  would  soon 
be  an  end  of  all  such  idolatrous  traffic.  The 
old  woman  was  none  of  the  meekest  in  temper, 


134  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

and  when  they  persisted  in  asserting  that  peo- 
ple had  learned  better  than  to  believe  in  snch 
mummeries  any  longer,  and  that  "  Mayken " 
herself  would  shortly  be  thrown  to  the  moles 
and  the  bats,  she  grew  very  angry  indeed. 
From  hard  words  the  parties  soon  came  to 
blows,  throwing  stones,  or  whatever  they  could 
lay  hands  on.  Some  bystanders  took  the  part 
of  the  old  woman,  whose  wares  were  fast  being 
destroyed,  and  before  long  there  was  a  great 
uproar. 

The  news  quickly  reached  the  senators, 
who  were  in  session  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville. 
The  ward-masters  -had  just  been  sent  for,  in 
order  to  have  the  militia  called  out.  But 
there  was  no  time  to  wait  for  their  coming, 
for  it  was  necessary  that  something  should  be 
done  instantly.  Perhaps  the  senators  bethought 
them  of  Virgil's  fine  saying  about  the  manner 
in  which  a  man  influential  by  reason  of  his 
piety  and  merit  can  quiet  a  popular  tumult. 
Certainly  it  had  been  perfectly  illustrated  be- 
fore their  eyes  by  William  the  Silent,  already ; 
and  it  was  destined  to  be  yet  more  signally  con- 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  135 

firmed  a  few  months  later.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  senators  mustered  their  courage,  wrapped 
their  dignity  about  them  in  ample  display,  and 
marched  solemnly  down  to  the  cathedral,  pre- 
ceded by  the  margrave  and  the  two  burgomas- 
ters. The  measure  was  not  without  a  tempo- 
rary effect.  Some  of  those  outside  were  per- 
suaded to  disperse,  and  the  mob  within  was  par- 

t 
tially  quieted.     When  the  rioters  insisted  on 

staying  till  after  vespers,  —  for  it  was  near  eve- 
ning, —  they  were  told  that  there  would  be  none 
that  night,  so  that  they  might  as  well  go  home 
at  once. 

A  few  began  to  go  out,  and  the  senators 
thought  best  to  aid  the  movement  to  retire  by 
their  own  example.  Having  had  all  the  doors 
closed  except  one,  they  accordingly  withdrew, 
hoping  that  the  multitude  would  peaceably  fol- 
low. But  no  sooner  had  they  left  the  church 
than  the  rioters  outside  tumultuously  rushed  in, 
drove  away  the  margrave  and  his  attendants, 
and  opened  wide  all  the  doors  for  the  whole 
crowd.  The  cathedral  was  now  altogether  in 
their  hands.     The  wardens  and  treasurers,  who 


136  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

foresaw  what  was  about  to  take  place,  tried  to 
secure  a  few  of  the  most  valuable  possessions, 
but  without  success.  They  were  obliged  to 
abandon  everything  to  the  mercy  of  the  rioters. 
The  senators,  escorted  by  a  few  halberdiers, 
ventured  once  more  to  approach  the  scene ; 
but  the  uproar  had  now  become  so  furious  that 
they  were  fain  to  make  a  hasty  retreat  to  the 
town-house,  which  they  feared  would  presently 
be  attacked  in  its  turn.  Gathering  such  forces 
as  they  could  muster  for  its  defense,  they  anx- 
iously awaited  the  event. 

It  was  now  growing  dark ;  and  moved  by 
some  strange  impulse,  the  excited  multitude  at 
the  cathedral  began  to  sing  a  psalm,  in  place  of 
the  omitted  evening  mass.  Clement  Marot's 
verses  had  been  recently  translated  into  Flemish, 
and  were  very  popular.  They  used  to  be  chanted 
by  thousands  of  voices  in  the  great  field-meet- 
ings, and  their  sublime  and  fervent  strains 
had  often  ascended  from  the  lips  of  martyrs  for 
the  faith.  As  the  sacred  anthem  rose  amid  the 
stately  columns  and  lofty  arches  of  the  vast  ca- 
thedral, a  frantic  enthusiasm  seized  the  throng. 


THE    IMAGE-BREAKING.  137 

With  reckless  hands  they  dragged  forth  the 
image  of  the  Virgin  ;  they  stripped  off  its  jew- 
eled draperies,  they  pierced  it  with  daggers, 
they  broke  it  into  a  thousand  fragments,  and 
strewed  them  over  the  floor.  The  multitude 
hailed  the  daring  act  with  a  wild  huzza.  Then 
the  general  destruction  was  begun. 

A  hundred  strong  arms  seized  axes  and 
sledge-hammers  to  dash  down  the  countless 
idols  they  had  worshiped  so  long.  The  stat- 
ues of  the  saints  were  hurled  from  their  niches, 
the  pictures  torn  from  the  walls,  the  painted 
windows  shattered,  the  treasuries  emptied, 
the  altars  stripped.  Vagabonds  stalked  forth 
arrayed  in  the  splendid  robes  of  the  priests  ; 
profane  hands  broke  the  consecrated  bread, 
and  drank  healths  to  the  "beggars"  in  sacra- 
mental wine.  With  the  holy  oil  which  was 
wont  to  be  poured  upon  royal  heads  they 
smeared  their  shoes  ;  they  burned  the  ancient 
manuscripts  and  illuminated  missals,  even  bast- 
ing the  dry  old  parchments  with  butter  in  or- 
der to  aid  the  flames.  Ladders  were  brought 
that  they  might  climb  far  up  into  the  vaulted 


138  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

roof,  and  tear  off  the  sculptured  ornaments 
which  profusely  decorated  its  magnificent 
arches.  Nothing  escaped  their  fury.  By  the 
help  of  ropes,  pulleys,  and  levers,  they  wrenched 
away  whatever  was  too  securely  fastened  to 
be  moved  by  sinewy  arms  unaided  thus.  The 
beautiful  "  repository,"  —  a  wonderful  work  of 
architecture  that  adorned  the  choir,  rising  arch 
upon  arch  and  pillar  upon  pillar  till  lost  in  the 
dim  shadowy  vault,  three  hundred  feet  above, 
—  was  broken  into  innumerable  fragments. 
The  great  organ,  the  pride  of  the  country,  was 
likewise  destroyed.  The  cathedral  was  strewn 
with  ruins  from  one  end  to  the  other.  Only 
two  statues  remained,  those  of  the  two  thieves 
between  whom  our  Lord  was  crucified,  which, 
with  a  bitter  irony,  the  iconoclasts  had  spared, 
as  fitting  divinities  to  preside  in  this  Romish 
cathedral. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  we  are  well  assured 
that  nothing  was  appropriated  from  the  treas- 
ures of  the  cathedral.  There  seemed  to  be  not 
the  least  desire  for  plunder.  No  person  was 
insulted  or  harmed,  not  even  the  monks  and 


THE   IMAGE-BRBAXING.  139 

priests  themselves.  Throughout  that  night, 
and  the  two  following  days  and  nights,  the 
havoc  continued  in  the  churches  and  monas- 
teries of  Antwerp.  But  a  hitter  Catholic  histo- 
rian* of  that  period  declares  that  "  the  Hu- 
guenots took  good  care  not  to  injure  in  any 
way  the  living  images."  This  was  the  more 
remarkable,  since  the  iconoclasts  included  none 
of  the  more  intelligent  and  respectable  citi- 
zens. Many  such  were  present,  perhaps,  as 
spectators,  but  the  actual  image-breakers  were 
comparatively  few,  and  all  of  the  lower  classes. 
And  yet  they  left  heaps  of  jewelry,  and  gold 
and  silver  plate,  lying  unheeded  on  the  ground. 
In  Flanders  they  even  hanged  one  of  their  own 
number  for  a  petty  theft.  At  Tournay,  the  ca- 
thedral was  strewn  with  plate  and  jewels  ;  but 
the  reformed  ministers  and  magistrates,  finding 
these  scattered  treasures,  took  them  into  their 
joint  possession  without  any  hindrance.  Every- 
thing valuable  was  then  weighed,  inventoried, 
and  locked  up. 

Yet,  although  these  riotous  proceedings  had 

•  Quoted  by  Motley,  Dutch  Kepublic,  Vol.  I.,  p.  671. 


140  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

harmed  only  stocks  and  stones,  they  brought 
an  ill-repute  on  the  party  in  whose  name  they 
had  been  committed.  As  Motley  remarks, 
"  the  sublime  spectacle  of  the  multitudinous 
field-preaching  was  sullied  by  the  excesses  of 
the  image-breaking.  The  religious  war,  before 
imminent,  became  inevitable." 

The  regent  was  highly  incensed,  as  well  as 
alarmed,  by  the  news  of  the  image-breaking  in 
Antwerp  and  elsewhere.  Even  the  phlegmatic 
Philip,  when  the  tidings  reached  him,  was  for 
once  transported  with  rage.  "  By  the  soul  of 
my  father,"  he  exclaimed,  "  it  shall  cost  them 
dear !  " 

Yet  the  immediate  effect  of  these  tumults 
was  to  compel  certain  concessions  to  the  re- 
formed party  which  they  would  not  have 
dreamed  of  asking  a  few  months  before.  Mar- 
garet, though  naturally  brave  and  high-spirited, 
as  became  a  daughter  of  Charles  V.,  was  now 
really  frightened.  Almost  immediately  on  hear- 
ing the  alarming  intelligence  from  Antwerp, 
she  resolved  to  flee  from  her  capital.  At  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  August, 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  141 

she  summoned  several  of  the  grand  seigniors 
to  the  palace.  To  their  great  surprise,  they 
found  the  regent  about  to  quit  Brussels.  The 
horses  and  mules  stood  harnessed  in  the  court- 
yard, the  body-guard  was  ready  to  mount,  and 
the  regent  herself  was  surrounded  by  the  wait- 
ing-women, chamberlains,  and  other  attendants, 
attired  for  flight.  She  announced  that  she  had 
determined  to  withdraw  to  the  city  of  Mons, 
which  Aerschot's  care  would  make  a  suffi- 
ciently secure  retreat  for  her,  until  the  sudden 
storm  of  sedition  might  blow  over.  At  pres- 
ent she  felt  that  it  was  impending  over  Brus- 
sels, and  that  when  it  should  burst  upon  that 
devoted  city  every  Catholic  would  be  put  to 
the  sword. 

Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn  strongly  repre- 
sented the  danger  and  folly  of  attempting  to 
flee.  Such  a  step  would  surely  be  the  signal 
of  a  general  anarchy,  in  which  everything  good 
must  perish.  Count  Horn  pledged  his  life  that 
should  it  hereafter  become  necessary  he  would 
secure  her  highness's  escape  from  Brussels, 
provided   she  would   consent   to    remain  now. 


142  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

At  last  she  promised  to  remain  one  day  longer, 
at  least.  The  seigniors  took  measures  to  pre- 
serve the  public  peace,  and  all  remained  tran- 
quil. 

But  at  seven  o'clock  that  evening,  the  duch- 
ess summoned  them  once  more.  She  had  been 
ill  at  ease  all  day,  and  fresh  rumors  that  the 
churches  were  sure  to  be  sacked  and  she  her- 
self made  prisoner  that  very  night  had  not  as- 
suaged her  panic.  Most  bitterly  did  she  reproach 
Count  Horn  for  having  persuaded  her  to  delay 
her  flight.  Horn  replied  that  if  her  highness 
was  absolutely  determined  to  stay  no  longer,  he 
would  bring  her  safely  out,  however  strong  the 
guards  at  the  gate,  or  die  in  the  attempt.  But 
he  urged  her  still  to  remain ;  and  her  fears 
were  at  length  allayed.  Otherwise,  the  scenes 
of  Antwerp  would  no  doubt  have  been  instantly 
repeated  at  Brussels. 

Three  days  later,  in  view  of  the  alarming 
condition  of  the  country,  the  government  con- 
ceded liberty  of  worship  according  to  the  re- 
formed faith  in  those  places  where  it  had  al- 
ready been  held.     The  duchess  herself  signed 


THE   IMAGE-BREAKING.  143 

the  "  accord ; "  while  Louis  of  Nassau  and 
other  confederates  pledged  themselves  to  con- 
sider their  league  annulled,  and  cordially  to 
support  the  government,  so  long  as  it  should 
be  true  to  its  promises.  Furthermore,  the  "  ac- 
cord" declared  the  inquisition  abolished,  and 
guarantied  an  amnesty  to  the  nobles  who  had 
hitherto  offended  against  the  king. 

This  seemed  a  great  gain  to  the  Protestants. 
Men  hoped  the  days  of  martyrdom  were  ended. 
But  it  proved  only  a  last  fleeting  gleam  of  sun- 
shine before  the  shutting  in  of  the  long  and 
terrible  storm. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


PHILIP    THE   PRUDENT: 


LL  this  eventful  summer,  while  the  field- 
$8k  preaching  and  the  image-breaking  were 
<p%  going  on  in  the  Netherlands,  Philip  the 
Prudent  was  sitting  still  to  consider. 
Philip  II.  was  not  considered  a  brilliant  man, 
in  any  sense.  Yet  his  character  certainly  pos- 
sessed one  or  two  rather  striking  traits,  —  strik- 
ing in  degree,  at  least,  if  not  in  kind.  He  was 
great  at  procrastination.  He  used  to  be  fond 
of  saying,  "  Time  and  I  are  a  match  for  any 
other  two."  If  he  could  by  any  means  post- 
pone a  troublesome  affair,  he  considered  him- 
self a  gainer.  Apparently  it  was  contrary  to 
his  principles  to  decide  any  matter  to-day  which 
could  possibly  be  put  off  till  to-morrow.  Could 
he  only  procrastinate  long  enough,  doubtless 
the  difficulty  would  obligingly  settle  itself.     It 

144 


"PHILIP    THE   PRUDENT."  145 

sometimes  seemed  as  if  he  thought  there  was 
in  the  affairs  of  men  some  mysterious  force  re- 
sembling what  doctors  call  the  vis  medicatrix 
naturae,  in  virtue  of  which  diseases  of  the  body 
politic,  like  certain  physical  maladies,  might  be 
expected  to  get  well  of  themselves,  provided 
they  had  a  wholesome  letting  alone.  Thus, 
having  been  informed  of  the  request  which  the 
young  nobles  had  so  audaciously  presented  in 
April,  he  sat  pondering  until  the  last  day  of 
July  before  he  took  any  action  whatever  upon 
the  matter.  Had  the  excitement  in  the  Neth- 
erlands been  of  a  superficial  nature,  it  might 
very  well  have  died  out  in  that  length  of  time, 
to  be  sure.  As  it  was,  however,  matters  were 
simply  going  on  from  bad  to  worse.  Philip  did 
not  understand  the  case.  His  was  not  the 
touch  that  could  interpret  every  thrill  of  the 
nation's  pulse.  While  he  had  been  putting  up 
a  mild  prescription  in  his  royal  dispensary, 
diluting  his  mercy  again  and  again,  and  count- 
ing out  its  scanty  drops  in  his  leisurely  way, 

the  far-off  patient  had  reached  a  still  more  seri- 
10 


146  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ous  stage  of  the  disease.  Infinitesimal  seda- 
tives were  of  no  account  now. 

Berghen  and  Montigny,  who  had  been  sent 
to  represent  the  condition  of  affairs  to  Philip, 
had  spoken  frankly,  as  became  envoys  who 
were  conscious  of  being  loyal  and  true.  The 
seeming  cordiality  with  which  his  majesty  had 
received  them  was  well  fitted  to  encourage  a 
free  expression  of  their  views.  They  had  told 
him  plainly  that  it  was  needful  to  moderate  the 
edicts,  to  abolish  the  inquisition,  and  to  grant 
a  liberal  amnesty.  Nothing  less  would  avert 
the  threatened  insurrection. 

When  the  tidings  of  the  immense  field-meet- 
ings began  to  arrive,  even  Philip  was  convinced 
that  the  Netherland  troubles  were  growing 
rather  alarming.  The  royal  council  held  al- 
most daily  sessions  to  discuss  what  was  to  be 
done.  The  king  himself  said  but  little  in  these 
meetings.  He  listened  assiduously,  however, 
and  took  quantities  of  notes,  —  for  he  was 
always  inordinately  fond  of  scribbling. 

It  was  finally  determined  to  grant  —  or  pre- 
tend to  grant  —  the  three  points  on  which  the 


"PHILIP    THE   PRUDENT."  147 

Netherlands  insisted  so  much.  As  to  the  edicts, 
the  "  moderation  "  proposed,  a  draught  of  which 
the  duchess  had  forwarded,  would  hardly  do ; 
but  they  might  try  it  again,  if  they  pleased. 
The  inquisition,  of  course,  could  never  be  dis- 
pensed with  entirely,  since  it  was  the  chief  re- 
liance of  the  church  for  preserving  in  its  puri- 
ty "  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. " 
But  inasmuch  as  the  establishment  of  the  new 
bishoprics  had  greatly  increased  the  number  of 
episcopal  inquisitors,  the  papal  inquisition  might 
be  allowed  to  cease.  There  should  be  an  am- 
nesty granted,  upon  certain  conditions,  which, 
as  it  afterward  appeared,  were  to  be  so  framed 
as  to  exclude  everybody  who  had  need  of  them. 
This  was  the  sum  total  of  mercy  promised 
in  the  king's  tardy  reply  to  the  petitions  of 
April,  and  the  representations  of  the  two  en- 
voys. ^  Yet  he  was  not  sincere  even  in  this,  as 
appears  from  a  curious  document  lately  dis- 
covered in  the  archives  of  Simancas,  which 
was  dated  on  the  31st  of  July,  1566.  It  is  a 
formal  declaration  made  by  the  king  before  a 
notary  and  in  the  presence  of  three  witnesses, 


148  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

protesting  that  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  of  his 
own  free  will,  but  under  the  constraint  of  cir- 
cumstances, that  he  had  just  authorized  the  re- 
gent to  promise  a  general  pardon,  he  did  not 
consider  himself  bound  by  that  promise.  On 
the  contrary,  he  reserved  the  right  to  punish  all 
the  guilty,  and  especially  the  authors  of  the 
sedition. 

But  the  king's  tender  conscience  seems  also 
to  have  been  sore  in  regard  to  his  concessions 
touching  the  inquisition  and  the  edicts.  Balm 
was  needed  for  this  wound  too ;  and  he  lost  no 
time  in  sending  to  Borne  for  it.  His  envoy  at 
the  papal  court  was  instructed  to  acquaint  His 
Holiness  with  the  recent  events,  and  to  explain 
that  want  of  time  alone  had  prevented  his  seek- 
ing counsel  beforehand  at  the  footstool  of  Saint 
Peter.  However,  no  real  harm  had  been  done  ; 
for  although  he  had  pretended  to  abolish  the 
papal  inquisition  in  the  provinces,  the  act  would 
not  be  valid  unless  it  should  receive  the  pope's 
sanction,  which  of  course  he  did  not  expect. 
But  this  was  to  be  a  profound  secret  between 
his   holiness   and   himself.     As  to  the  edicts, 


"PHILIP    THE   PRUDENT.'  149 

there  need  not  be  the  least  anxiety.  He  should 
on  no  account  permit  them  to  be  made  a  whit 
less  severe  than  now.  If  the  council  of  state 
and  the  knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece  should  be 
adroit  enough  to  frame  a  "  moderation  "  which 
did  not  really  moderate,  he  might  indulge  them 
in  it.  But  he  would  far  sooner  lose  all  his 
estates,  and  die  a  hundred  deaths,  than  permit 
the  least  damage  to  the  ancient  religion. 

These  are  specimens  of  the  "  masterly  dis- 
simulation "  in  which  Philip  II.  excelled.  His 
strongest  point  was  just  here.  He  was  great 
at  procrastinating,  indeed,  but  at  lying  he  was 
absolutely  sublime.  His  duplicity  towered  far 
above  other  men's  hight;  it  descended  far  be-  * 
low  other  men's  depth.  It  was  at  once  the 
foundation  of  his  character,  and  its  topmost 
stone.  Just  here  occurs  another  choice  illus- 
tration of  this  all-pervading  insincerity.  The 
duchess  had  represented  that  the  Netherlander 
were  clamorous  for  the  convocation  of  their 
states-general,  and  would  never  cease  to  clamor 
until  they  should  obtain  it.  Philip  knew  per- 
fectly well  what  was  implied  in  a  meeting  of 


150  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  states-general :  he  hated  the  very  name. 
u  I  shall  never,  under  any  possible  circum- 
stances, consent  to  call  that  assembly,"  he 
wrote,  in  substance,  to  Margaret ;  "  and  I  for- 
bid you  ever  to  permit  it.  However,  you  are 
by  no  means  to  let  the  people  know  this  ;  for  I 
wish  them  to  believe  that  permission  may  be 
granted  hereafter,  although  I  refuse  it  at  the 
present  time." 

The  news  of  the  field-preaching  and  the  im- 
age-breaking did  not  make  the  king  more  in- 
clined toward  toleration.  It  appeared  that  the 
fire  had  been  spreading,  instead  of  going  out 
peaceably,  as  it  ought  to  have  done.  Plainly, 
it  was  past  being  trodden  out  with  one's  heel 
now.  Already  it  had  burst  into  a  fine  blaze ; 
yet  the  king  sat  pondering  how  to  deal  with  it, 
as  if  he  had  ages  before  him  for  deliberation. 
Meanwhile,  a  stroke  of  his  accustomed  dupli- 
city could  not  come  amiss  ;  and  so,  while  ven- 
geance absorbed  his  thoughts,  lie  wrote  that  he 
purposed  "  to  treat  his  vassals  and  subjects  in 
the  provinces  like  a  good  and  clement  prince ; 
not  to  ruin   them  nor  to  put  them  into  servi- 


"PHILIP    THE   PRUDENT."  151 

tude,  but  to  exercise  all  humanity,  sweetness, 
and  grace,  avoiding  all  harshness."  We  shall 
see  how  he  kept  his  royal  word. 

Margaret,  in  her  letters  to  the  king,  professed 
herself  overcome  with  grief  and  shame  on  ac- 
count of  the  concessions  extorted  from  her  dur- 
ing the  tumults  of  August.  She  implored  his 
majesty  to  come  at  once  to  the  Netherlands,  and 
avenge  the  wrongs  done  to  the  ancient  church. 
She  did  not  scruple  to  add  that  he  need  have 
no  regard  to  the  pledges  she  had  made  in  the 
"accord"  of  the  24th  of  August,  as  she  had 
promised  only  in  her  own  name,  not  in  that  of 
his  majesty. 

The  promised  visit  of  the  king  to  his  Nether- 
land  provinces,  by  the  way,  had  been  talked 
about  for  some  time.  This  was  to  be  the  sure 
remedy  for  whatever  went  wrong.  Evil-doers 
were  constantly  warned  that  the  king  in  per- 
son would  shortly  call  them  to  account.  Com- 
plainants and  petitioners  were  assured  that  upon 
the  arrival  of  his  majesty  all  grievances  would 
infallibly  be  redressed.  Yet  there  is  much 
reason  to  doubt  whether  he  ever  really  intended 


152  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

to  go.  Philip  was  wholly  averse  to  exertion 
and  fatigue,  except  of  the  sort  required  in  the 
cabinet ;  and  people  who  knew  him  well  used 
to  smile,  among  themselves,  at  the  idea  of  his 
going  to  the  Netherlands.  His  graceless  son, 
Don  Carlos,  is  said  to  have  amused  himself  at 
the  royal  expense,  by  writing,  as  the  title-page 
of  a  blank  volume,  the  following :  — 

"The  Great  and  Admirable  Voyages  op 
King  Philip:  viz., 
"From  Madrid  to  the  Prado  ; 
"From  the  Prado  to  the  Fscorial ; 
"From  the  Escorial  to  Aranjuez"  etc. 

Still,  there  was  much  talk  in  the  royal  coun- 
cils about  this  contemplated  visit  to  the  Low 
Countries.  It  was  a  grave  question  whether 
the  king  should  appear  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
in  such  martial  pomp  as  to  strike  all  evil-doers 
with  dismay ;  or  whether  he  should  journey  in 
more  peaceful  guise,  attended  only  by  the  reti- 
nue befitting  his  sovereign  rank.  Doubtless 
much  might  depend  on  the  impression  produced 
by  his  coming ;  and  so  there  were  long  debates 


"PHILIP    THE   PRUDENT."  153 

as  to  whether  it  should  be  benignant  or  terrible. 
The  royal  favorite,  Ruy  Gomez,  Prince  of  Eboli, 
argued  that  kindness  would  be  more  effective 
than  force.  The  Duke  of  Alva,  on  the  other 
hand,  insisted  that  the  time  for  clemency  was 
past.  His  counsels  prevailed.  He  was  or- 
dered to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  lead  an 
army  to  the  Netherlands,  and  thus  open  the 
way  for  the  advent  of  the  king  in  person.  So 
the  following  winter  was  spent  in  Spain  in  the 
bustle  of  preparation  for  the  proposed  campaign. 
But  meanwhile  the  march  of  events  in  the 
Low  Countries  did  not  pause. 

By  the  "  accord  "  of  the  24th  of  August  it  had 
been  settled  that  the  reformed  worship  should 
be  tolerated  in  all  places  where  it  had  been  held 
previously  to  that  date.  Upon  this  basis  the 
several  stadtholders  now  attempted  to  tranquil- 
lize their  respective  provinces.  Count  Egmont 
was  in  charge  of  Flanders,  and  accordingly 
went  thither  to  try  his  hand  at  the  difficult  task 
of  pacification.  In  that  part  of  the  Low  Coun- 
tries the  adherents  of  the  reformed  faith  were 
then  very  numerous.    Upon  a  certain  day,  sixty 


154  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

thousand  armed  men  were  in  attendance  upon 
the  several  field-meetings  which  were  ^simulta- 
neously held.  They  had  cherished  hopes  that 
the  gallant  Egmont  would  yet  embrace  their 
religion  and  become  their  leader ;  but  instead 
of  this  they  found  him  their  persecutor.  Disre- 
garding that  article  of  the  "accord"  which  per- 
mitted the  reformed  worship  in  places  where  it 
had  already  been  held,  he  forbade  it  absolutely 
and  everywhere.  Great  numbers  of  alleged 
image-breakers  and  other  heretics  were  put  to 
death,  and  thousands  of  peaceable  citizens  fled 
from  their  homes  in  order  to  escape  arrest. 
His  private  secretary,  Bakkerzeel,  who  had 
once  belonged  to  the  league,  was  now  ex- 
tremely active  in  persecuting  heretics.  A  Cath- 
olic historian  admiringly  relates  of  this  gentle- 
man that  "  on  one  occasion  he  hanged  twenty 
heretics,  including  a  minister,  at  a  single  heat." 
This  sufficiently  illustrates  Egmont's  mode  of 
pacification  in  Flanders. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  returned  to  Antwerp 
on  the  26th  of  August.  Order  had  been  par- 
tially restored  by  this  time  ;    or  rather,  since 


"  PHILIP    THE    PRUDENT."  155 

the  image-breakers  had  spent  their  fury  and 
accomplished  their  task,  the  calm  followed  very 
naturally.  Orange  endeavored  to  adjust  mat- 
ters strictly  upon  the  basis  of  the  "  accord."  Yet 
he  felt  sure  that  the  king  would  never  acknowl- 
edge the  validity  of  that  instrument ;  and  in 
this  he  was  right.  The  magistrates  hung  three 
individuals  who  had  been  taken  in  the  act  of 
image-breaking  ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  "accord" 
expressly  stated  that  the  rioters  were  to  be  pun- 
ished, the  prince  did  not  interfere.  The  re- 
formed worship  had  been  held  not  only  in  the 
suburbs,  but  after  the  first  night  of  the  riot 
within  the  city  itself.  Before  the  date  of  the 
"  accord,"  two  long  discourses  had  been  deliv- 
ered in  the  very  cathedral,  amid  the  ruins  of 
the  demolished  idols.  It  was  therefore  decided 
that  there  should  be  three  places  of  worship 
within  the  walls,  one  for  each  sect  of  the  re- 
reformed,  and  that  no  man  should  molest  an- 
other on  account  of  his  religion,  be  it  what  it 
inight. 

In  these  days,  this  seems  the  most  natural 
idea  in  the  world.     But  it  had  found  its  way 


156  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

into  very  few  minds  then.  The  Prince  of  Or- 
ange stood  almost  alone  in  advocating  freedom 
of  conscience,  and  was  called  very  hard  names 
for  it,  by  both  parties. 

Count  Horn  betook  himself  to  Tournay,  the 
government  of  which  belonged  to  his  brother, 
Baron  Montigny,  now  absent  in  Spain.  He  did 
his  best  to  get  matters  comfortably  settled  in 
that  important  city.  He  designed  honestly  and 
faithfully  to  maintain  the  "accord;"  but  he  did 
not  succeed  to  his  mind.  On  the  one  hand, 
five-sixths  of  the  people  of  Tournay  were  Prot- 
estants, and  they  were  resolved  to  have  all  the 
privileges  that  the  "accord"  had  conceded.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  regent  had  now  been 
supplied  with  money  and  troops,  so  that  she  felt 
strong  enough  to  repudiate  her  promises.  After 
enduring  a  great  deal  of  ill-treatment  from 
both  parties,  Horn  was  recalled  about  the  mid- 
dle of  October.  In  January  following,  Tour- 
nay was  compelled  to  receive  a  garrison,  and 
its  citizens  were  disarmed.  The  reformed  wor- 
ship was  entirely  suppressed;  and  after  this 
fashion  Tournay.  was  tranquillized. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   FIRST  SIEGE,   AND    WHAT   CAME    OF  IT. 

fT/|ALENCIENNES  was  an  ancient  city,  well 
\Jl\  fortified,  and  pleasantly  situated  upon 
the  river  Scheld,  which  flowed  through 
its  center.  It  lay  in  the  province  of 
Hainault,  and  very  near  the  frontiers  of  France. 
Early  in  the  winter,  Valenciennes  had  been 
summoned  to  accept  a  garrison,  but  had  stoutly 
refused.  Upon  the  17th  of  December,  1566, 
therefore,  that  stiff-necked  city  was  publicly 
declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  siege,  and  all  its 
people  were  pronounced  rebels.  All  other  per- 
sons were  strictly  forbidden  to  have  any  deal- 
ings with  its  inhabitants,  either  in  the  way  of 
trade  or  charity,  on  pain  of  the  halter. 

Noircarmes  now  proceeded  to  invest  the  city 
in  due  form  ;  but  since  its  defenses  were  strong 
and  its  supplies  tolerably  ample,  the  people  took 

157 


158  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

the  matter  quite  cheerfully.  They  often  made 
bold  sallies,  and  appeared  to  think  skirmishes 
were  excellent  fun.  Noircarmes  and  his  six 
principal  officers  were  nicknamed  "  the  Seven 
Sleepers"  by  the  merry  citizens,  because  their 
operations  were  thought  to  be  carried  on  in  a 
decidedly  drowsy  manner.  A  contemporary 
manuscript, quoted  by  Motley,*  relates  that  early 
in  the  siege  the  citizens  diverted  themselves  by 
fixing  on  their  ramparts  two  very  long  pikes, 
and  attaching  to  the  end  of  them  an  immense 
pair  of  lunettes  or  spectacles  three  feet  in  di- 
ameter. When  asked  what  this  meant,  they 
gayly  replied  that  it  was  in  order  that  they 
might  discover  in  the  distance  the  artillery  with 
which  the  papists  of  Arras  were  to  furnish  the 
besiegers.  But  before  the  siege  ended  they 
had  seen  more  than  enough  of  it  with  the  na- 
ked eye. 

They  had  confidently  expected  the  Hugue- 
nots in  the  vicinity  could  muster  a  force  suffi- 
cient to  raise  the  siege.  There  were,  indeed, 
two    somewhat  formidable   gatherings.     About 

♦Dutch  Republic,  Vol.  II.  p.  47;  extract  from  Pontus  Pay  en  MS. 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND   WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    159 

three  thousand  men  were  collected  at  Lannoy, 
under  Pierre  Cornaille,  once  a  locksmith,  but 
now  a  Calvinist  preacher.  His  force  was  whol- 
ly undisciplined,  and  armed  with  all  sorts  of 
weapons,  from  halberds  to  pitchforks.  In  an- 
other place  there  was  a  similar  company,  num- 
bering about  twelve  hundred.  But  early  in 
January,  1567,  both  of  the  insurgent  parties 
were  separately  attacked  and  destroyed,  by  Noir- 
carmes,  in  one  day.  There  was  great  banquet- 
ing and  carousing  among  the  royalists  at  Brus- 
sels, in  honor  of  this  victory.  Yet  beleaguered 
Valenciennes  did  not  give  up. 

The  bold,  dashing  Brederode  now  undertook 
to  save  Valenciennes  by  a  diversion.  He  be- 
gan to  levy  troops  for  this  enterprise,  in  Ant- 
werp and  its  vicinity,  though  in  a  rather  secret 
manner.  If  lie  could  get  even  temporary  pos- 
session of  the  island  of  Walcheren,  with  the 
very  important  cities  of  Middelburg  and  Flush- 
ing, doubtless  Noircarmes  would  be  forced  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Valenciennes  in  order  to  res- 
cue this  more  valuable  post.     And  could  he  by 


160  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

any  means  hold  Walcheren,  he  might  thus  pre- 
vent the  expected  invasion  from  Spain. 

Meanwhile  Brederode  was  openly  talking  of 
presenting  a  fresh  petition  to  the  duchess,  at 
the  head  of  four  hundred  men.  When  Marga- 
ret heard  of  it,  she  declared  that  if  he  came  to 
Brussels  in  that  style,  the  gates  should  be  shut 
in  his  face.  However,  he  forwarded  the  peti- 
tion in  a  letter,  and  got  a  very  tart  reply,  broad- 
ly hinting  that  he  would  do  well  to  go  home  and 
mind  his  own  business.  Whereupon,  that  un- 
daunted personage  coolly  remained  where  he 
was,  and  went  on  with  his  secret  enlistments. 
During  the  early  part  of  March,  several  boat- 
loads of  his  men  were  cruising  about  Flushing  ; 
but  as  they  failed  to  get  a  foothold  in  any  port, 
they  concluded  to  sail  up  the  Scheld.  Having 
landed  not  far  from  Antwerp,  they  intrenched 
themselves  near  a  little  village  called  Ostrawell. 
Marnix  of  Thoulouse,  the  younger  brother  of 
Saint  Aldegonde,  was  the  commander  of  this 
force.  Brederode  himself  had  gone  to  the 
northern  provinces,  to  raise  more  troops,  and 
was  already  boasting,  according  to  his  habit, 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND   WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    161 

that  he  and  Thoulouse  should  soon  raise  the 
siege  of  Valenciennes. 

The  duchess  began  to  be  really  afraid  they 
would.  The  Seignior  de  Beauvoir,  commander 
of  Margaret's  own  body-guard,  went  with  eight 
hundred  chosen  men  to  attack  Thoulouse  in  his 
intrenchments.  He  conducted  the  enterprise 
with  so  much  secrecy  and  skill  that  the  insur- 
gent force  was  completely  surprised  and  de- 
stroyed. Their  noble  young  leader  himself  was 
literally  cut  to  pieces.  The  battle  was  in  full 
sight  of  Antwerp,  whose  walls  and  roofs  were 
that  morning  thronged  with  spectators  who  felt 
the  most  intense  interest  in  the  result.  Multi- 
tudes of  Calvinists  —  for  to  this  sect  belonged 
the  greater  part  of  the  forty  thousand  Protest- 
ants in  Antwerp  —  looked  down  upon  the  fatal 
field  where  their  brethren  were  being  cut  to 
pieces,  or  driven  into  the  Scheld.  A  few  hun- 
dreds had  taken  refuge  in  a  farm-house,  but  De 
Beauvoir  had  it  set  on  fire,  and  they  were  all 
either  burned  alive,  or  shot  in  trying  to  escape. 
The  spectators  on  the  ramparts  of  Antwerp  be- 
came too  much  excited  to  refrain  any  longer, 
11 


162  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

and  snatching  whatever  weapons  they  could 
find,  they  rushed  to  the  nearest  gate,  eager  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  fight. 

The  tumult  in  the  city  was  fearful.  Thou- 
sands of  frenzied  enthusiasts  had  crowded 
about  the  locked  gate,  demanding  that  it  should 
be  instantly  opened  to  let  them  go  forth.  Then 
William  of  Orange  appeared  before  them, 
mounted,  but  almost  alone.  Calmly  facing  the 
furious  mob  that  howled  and  raged  around  him 
and  spared  not  to  threaten  his  life,  he  told 
them,  kindly  but  firmly,  that  they  could  not 
be  permitted  thus  to  rush  into  inevitable  de- 
struction. The  battle  was  already  lost ;  the 
victorious  enemy  was  quitting  the  field ;  and 
the  appearance  of  such  an  ill-armed  and  disor- 
derly multitude  would  only  furnish  material  for 
a  fresh  massacre,  without  in  the  least  retriev- 
ing the  fortunes  of  the  day.  Most  of  the  crowd 
were  prevailed  upon  to  retire.  Five  hundred, 
however,  continued  to  insist  on  going  out,  and 
these,  having  been  warned  that  their  blood 
would  be  upon  their  own  heads,  were  suffered 
to  pass  the  gate. 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    163 

But  their  sallying  forth  proved  the  signal  of 
death  to  the  three  hundred  prisoners  who 
alone  survived  from  the  army  of  Thoulouse. 
Lest  they  should  be  rescued,  De  Beauvoir  had 
them  all  shot  in  cold  blood,  and  then  advanced 
toward  Antwerp.  The  five  hundred  Calvinists 
were  forced  to  retreat  within  the  walls,  after 
which  the  victorious  commander  departed,  car- 
rying with  him  the  banners  of  the  unfortunate 
Marnix  de  Thoulouse. 

But  a  conflagration  once  fairly  kindled  is  not 
easily  extinguished.  Antwerp  was  in  a  perfect 
blaze  of  excitement.  Many  of  the  Protestants 
were  fain  to  demand  a  bloody  retribution  for 
the  slaughter  of  that  morning.  Within  two  or 
three  hours,"  thousands  of  armed  Calvinists  had 
assembled  upon  the  Mere.  This  was  a  spacious 
and  magnificent  thoroughfare  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  more  resembling  an  oblong  market-place 
than  a  street.  They  proceeded  to  barricade 
every  approach,,  and  to  plant  at  the  head  of 
every  street  artillery,  which  they  had  seized 
from  the  city  arsenal.  There  was  fierce  talk 
of  pillaging  the  Catholic  dwellings  and  church- 


164  WILLIAM   THE  SILENT. 

es,  if  anything  still  remained  in  the  latter,  after 
the  image-breaking  of  the  previous  August. 
Who  could  tell  what  a  mob  so  strong  and  so 
furious  might  not  attempt  ? 

The  prince  ordered  out  the  city  guards  to 
protect  the  town-house  and  the  magistracy, 
and  summoned  the  senators  and  other  officials 
to  meet  him  in  the  council-room.  Meanwhile 
he  went  once  more,  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  be- 
fore the  angry  mob,  and  made  them  appoint 
deputies  to  treat  with  the  proper  authorities  at 
the  town-hall.  By  his  skillful  hand  an  agree- 
ment was  quickly  drawn  up,  which  was  signed 
by  the  representatives  of  both  parties.  How- 
ever, when  the  articles  were  submitted  to  the 
assembly  at  the  Mere,  they  refused  to  ratify  what 
their  deputies  had  done.  They  were  not  con- 
tent that  the  keys  of  the  city  should  remain  in 
the  hands  of  Orange  and  Hoogstraaten,  as  had 
been  stipulated,  and  declared  that  they  would 
blow  the  Hotel  de  Yille  into  the  air  unless  the 
keys  were  given  up  to  them. 

At  length,  by  a  sort  of  compromise,  a  tempo- 
rary truce  was  agreed  upon.     The  authorities 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    165 

promised  that  Protestant  burghers,  as  well  as 
Catholics,  should  be  employed  to  guard  the 
city ;  and  the  fifteen  thousand  mutineers  re- 
mained encamped  where  they  were,  without 
proceeding  to  any  acts  of  violence.  But  it  was 
a  fearful  night  to  the  defenseless  citizens,  who 
could  hear  ever  and  anon  shouts  of  "  Long  live 
the  beggars  ! "  from  the  armed  mob  on  the 
Mere. 

Yet  morning  came  without  any  outbreak 
having  occurred.  At  the  same  time,  there 
seemed  almost  no  possibility  tliat  the  tumult 
would  subside  without  bloodshed.  The  city 
guardsmen,  and  the  Catholic  burghers  who  had 
volunteered,  were  encamped  on  the  square  be- 
fore the  city  hall.  So  passed  another  day  and 
night  of  dreadful  apprehension.  The  prince 
and  the  magistrates  labored  incessantly  to  avert 
the  threatened  catastrophe.  After  much  con- 
sultation, a  new  series  of  articles  was  drawn 
up,  to  which  the  deputies  of  the  Calvinists 
agreed,  but  as  it  was  already  near  night,  it  was 
not  laid  before  the  great  body  of  the  mutineers 
until  the  next  morning.    There  was  some  doubt 


166  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

whether  or  not  this  second  treaty  would  be 
peaceably  accepted  by  them,  but  the  authorities 
had  resolved  to  enforce  it,  at  all  hazards. 

During  the  succeeding  night,  the  prince  pre- 
vailed upon  the  Lutherans  —  the  sect  to  which 
he  himself  then  belonged  —  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  authorities  in  maintaining  law 
and  order.  The  Calvinists,  although  opposed 
no  less  to  the  Lutheran  than  to  the  Catholic 
doctrine,  had  already  tried  to  frighten  them 
into  joining  their  party,  by  threatening  to  plun- 
der their  houses  if  they  would  not.  But  the 
influence  of  the  prince  outweighed  these  men- 
aces. Before  morning,  the  Lutherans  had  col- 
lected a  little  army  of  their  own,  near  Saint 
Michael's  cloister,  on  the  river-side. 

So  the  15th  of  March  dawned  on  three  dis- 
tinct armies,  embracing  some  forty  or  fifty 
thousand  men,  all  encamped  within  the  walls' 
of  Antwerp.  The  Calvinists  burned  to  repay 
the  wealthy  Catholics  for  the  oppression  they 
had  long  endured  at  their  hands.  The  Luthe- 
rans, no  less  wealthy,  and  fearful  of  being 
plundered,  regarded  the  Calvinists  as  robbers 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    167 

and  murderers/  A  bloody  battle  that  day  in 
the  streets  of  Antwerp,  seemed  inevitable  ;  and 
however  it  might  turn,  it  would  leave  desola- 
tion in  its  track.  The  opulent  city  would  be 
abandoned  to  plunder  and  outrage,  fire  and 
sword,  whoever  might  win  the  day. 

Early  in  the  morning,  the  articles  of  the  new 
capitulation  were  read  to  the  Catholic  forces  on 
the  square,  and  to  the  Lutherans  at  Saint 
Michael's.  Both  parties  hailed  them  with  hearty 
cheers.  It  remained  to  present  them  to  the 
Calvinists. 

"  At  two  o'clock,"  says  Motley,  "  William  of 
Orange,  attended  by  his  colleague,  Hoogstraaten, 
together  with  a  committee  of  the  municipal  au- 
thorities, and  followed  by  a  hundred  troopers, 
rode  to  the  Mere.  They  wore  red  scarfs  over 
their  armor,  as  symbols  by  which  all  those  who 
had  united  to  put  down  the  insurrection  were 
distinguished.  The  fifteen  thousand  Calvinists, 
fierce  and  disorderly  as  ever,  maintained  a 
threatening  aspect.  Nevertheless,  the  prince 
was  allowed  to  ride  into  the  midst  of  the  square. 
The  articles  were  then  read  aloud  by  his  com- 


168  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

mand,  after  which,  with  great  composure,  he 
made  a  few  observations.  He  pointed  out  that 
the  arrangement  Offered  them  was  founded  upon 
the  September  concessions ;  that  the  right  of 
worship  was  conceded  ;  that  the  foreign  garri- 
son was  forbidden ;  and  that  nothing  further 
could  be  justly  demanded  or  honorably  ad- 
mitted. He  told  them  that  a  struggle  upon 
their  part  would  be  hopeless,  for  the  Catholics 
and  Lutherans,  who  were  all  agreed  as  to  the 
justice  of  the  treaty,  outnumbered  them  by 
nearly  two  to  one.  He  therefore  most  ear- 
nestly and  affectionately  adjured  them  to  tes- 
tify their  acceptance  of  the  peace  offered  by  re- 
peating the  words  with  which  he  should  con- 
clude. Then,  with  a  firm  voice,  the  prince  ex- 
claimed, '  God  save  the  King ! ' The 

crowd  of  Calvinists  hesitated  an  instant,  and 
then,  unable  to  resist  the  tranquil  influence, 
convinced  by  his  reasonable  language,  they 
raised  one  tremendous  shout  of  Vive  le  Roi!" 
Antwerp  was  saved.  By  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  city  was  entirely  quiet.  Not  "a 
single  person  had  been  injured  during  those 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    1  G9 

three  terrible  days.  But  for  the  courage  and 
prudence  of  William  the  Silent,  millions  of 
money  and  multitudes  of  human  lives  must 
have  been  sacrificed.  Yet  history  records  that 
his  signal  services  at  this  perilous  moment  were 
not  appreciated  by  the  regent.  In  her  view  it 
was  a  flagrant  crime  to  have  granted  the  right 
of  worship  to  Calvinists  and  Lutherans,  and  the 
prince  got  no  thanks  for  what  she  was  pleased 
to  term  his  "  novel  and  exorbitant  capitula- 
tion." 

There  was  no  longer  any  hope  for  beleaguered 
Valenciennes.  The  hapless  city  was  abandoned 
to  its  fate.  After  the  Ostrawell  massacre,  the 
regent  had  sent  word  to  the  citizens  that  pro- 
vided they  would  now  open  their  gates  to  her 
troops,  and  submit  to  the  absolute  suppression  of 
all  religions  save  that  of  Rome,  the  past  should 
be  forgiven.  Those  who  chose  rather  to  go  to 
some  foreign  land  should  be  allowed  fourteen 
days  to  prepare  for  emigration.  The  regent's 
envoys  on  this  occasion  were  Count  BSgmoiit 
and  the  Duke  of  Aerschot.  But  they  could  not 
persuade  Valenciennes  to  submit  to  the  terms 


170  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

proposed.  Nearly  all  the  inhabitants  had  em- 
braced the  reformed  faith ;  and  it  seemed  too 
much  for  the  multitude  to  be  thus  forced  either 
from  their  religion  or  their  native  land.  Eg- 
mont  was  extremely  angry  at  the  refusal ;  and 
as  the  king  had  consented  that  an  assault  should 
be  made,  the  cannonading  began  at  once. 

Hitherto,  the  people  of  Valenciennes  had  en- 
dured the  siege  with  great  heroism.  But  when 
they  found  themselves  cut  off  from  all  hope  of 
relief,  when  their  dwellings  began  to  crumble 
and  totter  before  the  merciless  cannonade,  their 
hearts  suddenly  failed  them.  Sometimes  a 
mere  casual  coincidence,  or  other  insignificant 
event,  has  proved  the  signal  of  irretrievable 
panic  and  defeat.  It  was  thus  in  the  present 
instance.  Very  ominously,  as  they  thought,  the 
batteries  of  Noircarmes  played  first  upon  the 
"  White  Tower,"  whose  ancient  walls  they  re- 
garded with  a  superstitious  reverence,  on  ac- 
count of  a  certain  stanza  inscribed  upon  them 
ages  before.  It  was  in  French,  of  course  ;  but 
has  been  translated  as  follows  :  — 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AXD  WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    171 

"  When  every  man  receives  his  own, 

And  justice  reigns  for  strong  and  weak, 
Perfect  shall  be  this  tower  of  stone, 
And  —  all  the  dumb  will  learn  to  speak. ' ' 

Whether  they  inferred  that  the  destruction 
of  the  old  tower  was  death  to  their  hopes  that 
ever  justice  would  reign  for  strong  and  weak, 
we  do  not  know ;  but  it  is  related  that  their 
hearts  died  within  them  at  the  opening  of  the 
cannonade.  As  if  to  deepen  their  depression, 
too,  the  music  which  the  chimes  were  playing, 
as  usual,  from  all  the  church  belfries,  happened 
on  that  morning  to  be  the  mournful  strains  of 
the  twenty-second  psalm,  "  My  God  !  my  God  ! 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  "  Before  long, 
the  great  tower  of  Saint  Nicholas  was  in  ruins ; 
public  edifices  and  private  dwellings  were  tot- 
tering to  their  fall ;  and  still  Noircarmes  was 
pouring  upon  them  incessant  volleys  of  shot  and 
shells.  Within  a  day  and  a  half,  the  despair- 
ing city  surrendered  at  discretion. 

Noircarmes  had  given  his  promise  that  the 
lives  and  property  of  the  citizens  should  be  re- 
spected.    But  when  once  within  the  gates,  he 


172  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

did  not  greatly  concern  himself  about  keeping 
his  word.  His  troops  were  quartered  upon  pri- 
vate families,  where  they  plundered  and  mur- 
dered with  little  restraint.  The  wealthiest  citi- 
zens were  arrested  at  once  ;  and  a  vast  amount 
of  property  was  confiscated  for  the  benefit  of 
Noircarmes  and  the  rest  of  the  "  Seven  Sleep- 
ers," who  were  wide-awake  now.  The  city  was 
forced  to  surrender  all  its  ancient  privileges 
and  immunities,  and  to  pay  a  heavy  fine  for 
the  expenses  of  the  siege.  The  two  principal 
Huguenot  divines,  La  Grange  and  De  Bray, 
were  publicly  executed  ;  and  more  than  thirty 
other  leaders  of  the  Protestant  sects  were  put 
to  death.  Hundreds  of  citizens  were  strangled 
or  beheaded.  The  Calvinists  seem  to  have  been 
either  burned  alive  or  hung.  "  For  two  whole 
years,"  says  a  Catholic  historian  residing  in 
Valenciennes  at  the  time,  from  whose  manu- 
script Motley  often  quotes,  "  there  was  scarcely 
a  week  in  which  several  citizens  were  not  exe- 
cuted, and  often  a  great  number  were  de- 
spatched at  a  time.     All  this  gave  so  much 


THE  FIRST  SIEGE,  AND   WHAT  CAME  OF  IT.    173 

alarm  to  the  good  and  innocent,  that  many 
quitted  the  city  as  fast  as  they  could." 

Not  long  afterwards,  Noircarmes  wrote  to 
Cardinal  Granvelle  that  the  capture  of  Valen- 
ciennes had  worked  a  miracle.  "  The  other 
cities,"  he  exultingly  adds,  "  all  come  forth  to 
meet  me,  putting  the  rope  around  their  own 
necks."  People  used  to  say  that  the  keys  of 
Valenciennes  had  unlocked  the  gates  of  all  the 
rest.  Even  Antwerp,  lately  so  turbulent,  was 
cowed  into  submission,  and  as  soon  as  Orange 
had  departed,  little  more  than  a  month  after 
the  fierce  tumult  just  described,  it  meekly  ac- 
cepted a  garrison  under  Count  Mansfield. 

But  might  was  not  destined  to  triumph  over 
right  for  ever. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


DEPARTURE    OF   ORANGE  AND    COMING    OF  ALVA. 


lILLIAM  the  Silent  bad  long  been  deeply 
king  who  was  its  hereditary  sovereign. 


pondering  his  personal  relations  to  his 
SSf    adopted   country,   and  to    the    Spanish 


He  had  never  forgotten  the  plot  revealed  to 
him  so  many  years  before  by  Henry  II.  of 
France,  in  the  wood  of  Vincennes.  Tiie  sud- 
den death  of  that  monarch,  as  well  as  various 
other  circumstances,  had  hitherto  prevented  its 
accomplishment,  as  they  were  destined  still 
to  do,  for  several  years  to  come ;  but  he  was 
sure  the  infernal  design  had  never  been  re- 
nounced. Sooner  or  later,  if  France  and  Spain 
could  have  their  way,  every  Protestant  head 
was  doomed  to  fall.  For  a  time,  indeed,  the 
Low  Countries  had  been  free  from  foreign 
troops ;  but  they  were  to  be  so  no  more.     The 

174 


ORANGE  AND  ALVA.  175 

regent  already  had  her  hireling  garrisons  in  the 
chief  Netherlaud  cities,  and  Alva's  army  of 
invasion  was  mustering  even  now  beyond  the 
Pyrenees.  The  crisis  was  approaching.  One 
must  shortly  decide  whether  to  be  a  slave  or  a 
rebel,  for  such  was  the  concise  alternative. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  1566,  an  interview 
between  Orange,  Egmont,  Horn,  Hoogstraaten, 
and  Louis  of  Nassau,  had  taken  place,  by  pre- 
vious appointment,  at  Dendermonde,  seventeen 
miles  from  Brussels.  The  object  seems  to  have 
been  to  discuss  the  condition  of  the  country, 
and  if  possible  to  agree  upon  some  course  of 
action.  The  Prince  of  Orange  had  already 
confided  to  Egmont  and  Horn  his  willingness 
to  undertake  preparations  against  the  invasion 
of  a  Spanish  army,  provided  he  were  sure  of 
their  co-operation,  and  of  the  approval  of  the 
estates-general. 

Egmont,  however,  opposed  this  scheme,  and 
professed  himself  unable  to  think  so  ill  of  the 
king  as  such  a  step  would  imply.  The  flatteries 
heaped  upon  him  during  his  visit  to  Spain  had 
not    yet    been    forgotten.      Furthermore,    the 


176  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

count  had  a  large  family,  and  should  he  involve 
himself  in  any  disastrous  attempt  at  revolution, 
they  must  suffer  by  it.  Conld  he  have  foreseen 
that  his  loyalty  itself  would  shortly  bring  him 
to  the  scaffold,  and  his  children  to  beggary,  he 
might  have  acted  differently.  At  this  Dender- 
monde  conference  he  was  warned.  An  inter- 
cepted letter,  purporting  to  be  from  the  Span- 
ish envoy  in  Paris  to  Margaret  of  Parma,  was 
read  to  the  company.  It  alluded  to  Orange, 
Egmont,  and  Horn  as  men  whom  the  king  of 
Spain  intended  to  use  for  his  own  purposes,  and 
then  to  destroy.  They  were  to  be  flattered  and 
caressed  without  limit,  so  long  as  they  could  be 
of  service,  and  then  to  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
Egmont  refused  to  believe  the  letter  genuine ; 
and  when  he  afterward  showed  it  to  the  duch- 
ess herself,  she  roundly  declared  it  a  forgery. 
Yet  her  assertion  was  not  always  the  end  of  all 
doubt.  Egmont  himself  once  remarked  of 
Margaret,  "  In  fine,  she  is  a  woman,  educated 
in  Rome.  There  is  no  faith  to  be  given  to 
her." 

The  Dendermoude  conference  broke  up  with- 


ORANGE  AND   ALVA.  177 

out  coming  to  any  definite  resolve.  Egmont 
was  unwilling  to  attempt  military  resistance ; 
and  the  other  seigniors  were  not  prepared,  as 
yet,  to  go  on  without  him.  So,  after  conversing 
for  an  hour  or  two,  and  dining  together,  the  five 
nobles  mounted  their  horses,  and  departed  each 
his  own  way.  The  prince  was  obliged  to  visit 
the  provinces  of  his  government,  and  did  not 
return  to  Antwerp  till  February,  1567,  shortly 
before  the  events  related  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter. His  services  on  that  memorable  occasion 
were  among  the  last  he  was  to  render  to  the 
king.  Already  lie  had  offered  his  resignation 
of  all  his  offices,  rather  than  take  a  certain  new 
oath  of  allegiance,  by  which  he  was  required  to 
pledge  himself  u  to  obey  the  orders  of  govern- 
ment, everywhere  and  against  every  person, 
without  limit  or  restriction. "  Most  of  the  great 
lords,  including  Egmont,  had  taken  this  oath, 
it  was  true.  But  Orange  had  steadily  refused. 
It  was  enough  that  he  had  kept  inviolate  the 
oath  of  allegiance  which  he  had  taken  long  be- 
fore.   There  was  no  need  of  any  new  one.    Nor 


178  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

would  he  bind  Iris  conscience  by  a  pledge  of 
blind  obedience  to  any  mortal  man. 

The  regent  was  unwilling  to  accept  his  resig- 
nation, and  did  her  best  to  make  him  retract  it. 
Early  in  April,  after  Antwerp  had  been  quieted, 
and  while  Valenciennes  was  still  besieged,  the 
prince  met  Mansfield  and  Egmont  at  Wille- 
brock,  a  place  midway  between  Antwerp  and 
Brussels.  It  was  the  last  time  the  two  friends, 
so  long  and  closely  associated  in  public  life,  ever 
met  on  earth.  Each  had  chosen  his  course  for 
the  future.  Henceforth  they  were  to  walk  in 
ever  diverging  paths.  In  vain  Egmont  argued 
that  there  was  no  occasion  to  take  up  arms 
against  the  king.  In  vain  Orange  warned  his 
friend  not  to  trust  to  the  royal  flatteries,  which 
would  prove  his  destruction.  Neither  could 
move  the  other.  William  was  on  the  eve  of 
departing  to  Germany,  and  foreseeing  that  this 
separation  would  be  final,  he  threw  his  arms 
around  Egmont  for  a  last  embrace.  Tears 
started  to  the  eyes  of  both,  for  however  unlike 
in  their  aims  and  motives,  they  had  loved  each 
other  long  and  well.    Then  the  last  words  were 


ORANGE  AND   ALFA.  179 

spoken,  and  the  stately  nobles  went  forth,  to 
meet  no  more. 

A  few  days  afterward,  the  prince  wrote  to 
Philip,  again  resigning  all  his  offices,  and  stat- 
ing that  he  was  about  to  quit  the  Low  Coun- 
tries for  Germany.  He  added,  however,  that 
he  should  always  hold  himself  and  his  property 
at  the  king's  disposal,  in  whatever  might  be  for 
the  true  service  of  his  majesty. 

On  the  11  th  of  April,  he  left  Antwerp.  Two 
days  later,  he  wrote  farewell  letters  from  Breda 
to  his  friends  Egmont  and  Horn,  saying  that  his 
conscience  would  not  suffer  him  to  take  the  re- 
quired oath,  neither  was  he  willing  to  behold 
the  ruin  of  his  adopted  country,  and  therefore 
he  was  about  to  leave  it  for  the  present. 
Exile  was  easier  to  be  endured  than  slavery. 

Indeed,  the  prince  was  well  aware  that  to  re- 
main would  shortly  cost  him  his  life.  He  was 
already  destined  by  the  king  to  the  same  fate 
which  actually  overtook  Egmont  and  Horn  in 
the  course  of  the  following  year.  A  secret 
espionage  had  made  him  acquainted  with  the 
private   schemes   of   the    crafty   king.     Philip 


180  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT.  ' 

always  locked  up  his  papers  very  carefully,  and 
kept  the  key  in  his  own  pocket ;  yet  unseen 
hands  were  wont  to  open  the  cabinet,  and  trans- 
mit copies  of  the  most  private  documents  to 
the  Prince  of  Orange.  Very  soon  after  Wil- 
liam had  reached  Germany,  he  thus  ascertained 
that  the  Duke  of  Alva  had  instructions  "  to  ar- 
rest the  prince  as  soon  as*  he  could  lay  hands 
upon  him,  and  not  to  let  his  trial  last  more  than 
twenty-four  hours."  But  happily  he  was  out 
of  Alva's  reach. 

On  the  22d  of  April,  he  left  Breda  for  Dil- 
lenburg  in  Nassau,  the  seat  of  his  ancestors 
and  the  place  of  his  own  birth.  Now  that  the 
prince  had  quitted  the  Netherlands,  it  seemed 
as  if  nobody  was  left.  There  was  a  great  va- 
cancy in  the  land  whence  he  had  departed. 
There  was  the  gloom  of  an  approaching  reign 
of  terror  too,  for  Alva  was  close  at  hand. 

At  this  period,  Egmontwas  entirely  confident 
of  his  position  in  the  good  graces  of  his  sover- 
eign. Both  the  king  and  the  regent  had  been 
lavish  of  praises  and  thanks  for  Ills  late  ser- 
vices.    On  the   26th  of  March,  the  king  had 


ORANGE   AND    ALVA.  181 

written  to  him  in  the  most  affectionate  terms, 
although  his  death-warrant  had  already  been 
signed  by  that  same  royal  hand.  "  I  am 
pleased,  my  cousin,"  said  Philip,  "  that  you 
have  taken  the  new  oath ;  not  that  I  considered 
it  at  all  necessary  as  regards  yourself,  but  for 
the  example  which  you  have  thus  given  to  oth- 
ers, and  which  I  hope  they  will  all  follow.  I 
have  received  not  less  pleasure  in  hearing  of 
the  excellent  manner  in  which  you  are  doing 
your  duty,  the  assistance  you  are  rendering, 
and  the  offers  which  you  are  making  to  my  sis- 
ter, for  which  I  thank  you,  and  request  you  to 
continue  in  the  same  course."  Similar  flatte- 
ries had  on  various  occasions  been  addressed  to 
the  Prince  of  Orange ;  but  happily  he  knew 
just  what  they  were  worth. 

As  for  Count  Horn,  he  had  betaken  himself, 
in  a  sullen,  gloomy,  misanthropic  mood,  to  his 
solitary  mansion  at  Weert.  He  had  spent  his 
private  fortune  in  Philip's  service,  and  had  never 
received  any  salary  or  other  compensation  for 
all  his  labors  and  sacrifices.  He  had  been 
abundantly  abused  and  slandered,  when  he  was 


182  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

honestly  doing  his  best ;  and  it  was  not  strange 
that  he  was  now  out  of  humor  with  the  king, 
the  regent,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  It 
would  have  been  well  for  him  had  he  never 
been  beguiled  from  that  lovely  retreat,  to  fall 
into  Alva's  snares. 

This  Duke  of  Alva,  at  whose  terrible  name 
men's  hearts  failed  them  for  fear,  was  descended 
from  an  illustrious  Spanish  house,  bearing  the 
family  name  of  Toledo.  From  his  childhood 
he  was  taught  to  love  war,  and  to  hate  all  here- 
tics and  infidels.  When  only  sixteen  years  of 
age,  in  his  first  battle,  he  distinguished  himself 
by  his  dashing  valor.  He  had  scarcely  reached 
manhood  when  he  went,  at  the  emperor's  side, 
to  fight  the  Turks,  and  won  a  high  place  in 
the  imperial  favor  by  his  brilliant  exploits. 

We  find  a  romantic  little  anecdote  of  this 
portion  of  his  career,  which  sets  the  youthful 
soldier  in  a  much  more  agreeable  light  than 
does  any  subsequent  passage  of  his  life.  Hav- 
ing obtained  leave  of  absence  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  during  the  campaign  in  Hungary,  he 
galloped  off  to  Spain,  to  see  the  young  bride 


ORANGE   AND   ALVA.  183 

he  had  left  behind  when  he  went  to  the  war. 


and  was  back  at  his  post  again  within  seventeen 
days.  Considering  that  he  must  have  ridden 
at  least  fifteen  hundred  miles,  tills  certainly  was 
a  substantial  tribute  to  the  charms  of  the  fair 
duchess.  But  the  softer  traits  of  his  ardent 
nature  were  soon  obliterated  in  the  stem  rou- 
tine of  military  life. 

The  young  duke  became  the  greatest  general 
in  Europe.  At  that  period,  war  was  considered 
the  most  important  of  all  arts,  the  profoundest 
of  all  sciences,  and  Alva  was  its  most  accom- 
plished professor.  Nobody  could  excel  him  in 
besieging  cities  or  avoiding  battles,  still  less  in 
bold  fighting  when  battles  were  inevitable. 
However,  he  was  no  statesman,  as  his  admin- 
istration of  Nctherland  affairs  was  destined 
abundantly  to  show.  As  a  man,  he  was  insatia- 
bly greedy  for  wealth,  as  well  as  crafty,  fero- 
cious, and  vindictive  beyond  what  is  often  pos- 
sible to  mankind.  His  manners  were  haughty 
and  despotic;  his  person  tall  and  erect,  but 
lank  and  sallow.  Such  was  Ferdinando  Alva- 
rez de  Toledo,  Duke  of  Alva,  when,  in  his  six- 


184  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

teenth  year,  he  became  captain-general  of  the 
Netherlands. 

His  army  consisted  of  only  about  ten  thou- 
sand men,  but  they  were  well-trained  veterans, 
and  had  been  equipped  in  a  style  so  superior 
that  the  privates  might  have  been  taken  for 
captains.  Early  in  May,  1567,  the  troops  em- 
barked at  Carthagena,  on  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Spain,  and  proceeded  thence  to  Genoa. 
After  reassembling  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps, 
they  were  to  cross  Mount  Cenis,  and  make 
their  way  through  Savoy,  Burgundy,  and  Lor- 
raine, to  the  Netherlands. 

It  was  a  very  difficult  and  dangerous  march, 
often  leading  them  through  narrow  denies 
where  a  small  force  might  easily  have  inter- 
cepted and  destroyed  them.  However,  being 
kept  under  very  strict  discipline,  they  were  suf- 
fered to  proceed  unmolested,  though  closely 
watched,  at  the  distance  of  a  few  miles,  by  a 
French  army  of  observation,  which  kept  pace 
with  them  like  their  shadow.  They  passed 
within  six  leagues  of  Geneva,  the  stronghold  of 
Calvinism,     The  pope  had  intimated  that  if 


ORANGE   AND   ALVA.  185 

they  could  make  it  convenient  to  destroy  that 
obnoxious  city  by  the  way,  he  should  be  greatly 
obliged.  .  But,  however  much  he  might  have  en- 
joyed it,  Alva  thought  best  to  confine  himself 
to  the  enterprise  on  which  he  had  been  sent. 
The  Swiss  had  a  force  of  six  thousand  men  on 
the  watch,  but  there  was  no  fighting.  The 
three  divisions  of  the  Spanish  army  followed 
each  other  at  the  interval  of  one  day's  march, 
so  that  the  second  encamped  each  night  on  the 
spot  occupied  by  the  first  the  night  previous. 

By  the  middle  of  August,  they  reached 
Thionville,  on  the  extreme  southern  border  of 
the  Netherlands,  unharmed  and  in  perfect  or- 
der. 

The  regent  was  by  no  means  pleased  with  Al- 
va's mission  to  the  Netherlands.  She  was  per- 
fectly aware  that  however  it  might  be  nom- 
inally, she  would  be  virtually  superseded.  Not- 
withstanding, she  despatched  Berlaymont  and 
Noircarmes  to  Thionville,  to  greet  him  in  her 
name.  Some  of  the  Netherland  cities  also, 
with  anxious  and  trembling  haste,  sent  deputa- 
tions thither,  to  convey  empty  assurances  of 


186  WILL  I AM    THE    SILENT. 

welcome.  As  tlie  duke  approached  Brussels, 
several  days  later,  Count  Egmont,  accompanied 
by  other  noblemen,  rode  out  to  meet  him,  with 
a  present  of  two  beautiful  horses.  His  recep- 
tion by  the  duke  was  somewhat  cool  at  first, 
yet  the  doomed  nobleman  suspected  nothing. 
Indeed,  Alva  soon  became  sufficiently  cordial 
in  appearance.  The  future  executioner  and 
his  victim  rode  into  Brussels  side  by  side. 

Margaret  had  had  a  great  mind  not  to  see 
the  new  captain-general  at  all.  But  inasmuch 
as  the  duke  had  expressed  himself  in  his  recent 
letters  with  extreme  politeness  and  submission, 
she  had  finally  concluded  to  receive  him.  She 
stood  motionless  in  the  center  of  the  apart- 
ment, as  stiff  and  stately  as  possible ;  and  the 
interview  was  a  very  awkward  and  uncomfort- 
able affair.  The  duke,  though  outwardly  def- 
erential, was  secretly  indignant  at  the  frigid 
and  haughty  air  of  her  highness,  and  doubtless 
resolved  that  the  proud  woman  should  yet  show 
him  a  different  face  from  the  one  she  wore  that 
day. 

The  king  had  sent  by  Alva  circular  letters 


ORANGE  AND   ALVA.  187 

to  all  the  cities,  enjoining  obedience  to  the*  new 
captain-general  until  he  himself  should  arrive, 
which  would  be  very  soon.  Meanwhile,  they 
were  expected  to  accept  their  garrisons  with 
meekness,  and  to  provide  duly  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  Spanish  troops,  whose  active  ser- 
vice, he  trusted,  would  not  be  required.  The 
soldiers  were  accordingly  distributed  through 
the  principal  cities,  and  the  municipal  authori- 
ties were  coolly  directed  to  resign  their  keys  to 
Alva. 

Two  or  three  items  of  business  had  been 
specially  designated  by  the  king  for  Alva's  ear- 
liest attention.  In  the  first  place,  every  person 
who  had  been  prominent  in  the  anti-inquisition 
movement,  or  had  in  any  manner  opposed  the 
government,  was  to  be  put  to  death.  Further- 
more, the  inquisition  was  to  be  reorganized, 
and  the  edicts  republished,  in  order  that  pro- 
ceedings against  heresy  might  be  resumed  with 
more  vigor  than  ever. 

A  good  deal  of  work  was  thus  summarily 
laid  before  the  energetic  captain-general.  It 
had  been  expressly  specified,  as  the  most  im- 


188  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

portant  thing  of  all,  that  the  great  seigniors, 
about  whom  Granvelle  and  Margaret  had  made 
so  many  secret  complaints,  should  be  arrested 
at  once.  Berghen  and  Montigny,  being  in 
Spain,  were  already  in  the  king's  power.  It 
was  in  order  to  allay  any  possible  suspicion, 
that  Philip  had  written  so  flatteringly  to  Eg- 
rnont  and  others  of  the  doomed  nobles.  The 
Prince  of  Orange  had  not  been  premature  in 
effecting  his  own  escape.  The  gentlemen  of 
the  league  were  also  to  be  indicted  for  high 
treason  without  delay,  notwithstanding  the  par- 
don heretofore  promised. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE   SEIGNIORS  ARRESTED. 

^ITHIN  little  more  than  a  fortnight  after 
s   the    duke    reached   Brussels,    he     had 
§$3?   sprung  his  trap  upon  such  of  the  great 
seigniors  as  were  not  beyond  his  reach. 
Yet  in  writing  to  the  king  he   apologized  that 
these  important  captures  had  been  delayed  so 
long.     The    only  reason,  he  said,  was,  that  it 
seemed  desirable  to  seize  all  the  illustrious  vic- 
tims at  once,  lest  otherwise  some  should  escape. 
It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  neatly  the 
business  was  managed.     As  for  Count  Egmont, 
lie  was   already  in  Brussels,  and   it  was   only 
necessary  to  treat  him  with  sucli  nattering  con- 
fidence as  to  prevent  his  heeding  any  warning 
to  escape.     To  an  expert  in  dissimulation,  like 
Alva,    this    was    very    easy,    especially    when 

backed  by  the  affectionate  letters  of  the  king. 

189 


190  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

0 

But  Count  Horn  still  remained  gloomily  at 
Weert.  Both  Alva  and  his  son,  Don  Ferdi- 
nando,  had  written  to  him  in  the  most  cordial 
terms  while  they  were  still  upon  the  march, 
more  than  a  month  before.  The  honest  though 
somewhat  peevish  nobleman  had  replied  that 
he  was  deeply  sensible  of  their  kindness,  but 
must  beg  to  be  excused  for  the  present  from 
coming  to  Brussels  in  person.  His  private 
secretary,  Alonzo  de  la  Loo,  would  explain  his 
reasons  more  fully. 

The  duke  was  extremely  polite  to  Count 
Horn's  secretary,  and  professed  himself  infi- 
nitely pained  that  the  admiral's  distinguished 
services  had  not  yet  been  suitably  rewarded  by 
the  king,  who  was  indeed  sometimes  rather 
tardy  in  expressing  his  gratitude  to  his  faithful 
officers.  Yet  he  might  depend  that  the  royal 
generosity  would  not  always  slumber.  Mean- 
while, could  the  duke  but  see  the  excellent  ad- 
miral, he  could  tell  him  things  which  would 
convince  him  that  he  had  not  been  forgotten 
by  his  friends.  It  was  also  quietly  hinted  by 
the  duke's  secretary  to  La  Loo  that  it  would 


THE    SEIGNIORS   ARRESTED.  191 

not  be  strange  if  Count  Horn  should  find  him- 
self appointed  governor  of  Milan  or  viceroy  of 
Naples,  some  fine  morning,  and  in  either  of 
those  lucrative  posts  he  would  quickly  retrieve 
his  embarrassed  affairs. 

The  faithful  Alonzo  was  highly  delighted  by 
all  these  tokens  of  good- will  to  his  master. 
Having  been  told  that  the  duke  felt  really  hurt 
because  many  of  the  chief  nobles,  and  espe- 
cially his  excellent  friend  Count  Horn,  had 
failed  to  visit  him  on  his  arrival,  the  honest 
secretary  went  straight  back  to  Weert,  to  urge 
the  admiral  to  come  to  Brussels  at  once.  Eg- 
mont  likewise  added  his  own  entreaties,  an  act 
which,  however  well-meant,  he  remembered  with 
bitter  regret  on  the  fatal  day  when  both  the 
two  nobles  went  to  the  scaffold.  Horn  was  re- 
assured by  all  these  smooth  words.  It  was  not 
long  before  he  came  with  unsuspecting  cheer- 
fulness to  the  very  spot  where  the  snare  was 
spread  for  his  unwary  feet. 

Alva  well  knew  there  would  be  no  use  in 
trying  to  allure  the  Prince  of  Orange  from  his 
German  castle.     Nevertheless,  he  sent  an  invi- 


192  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

tation  to  Count  Hoogstraaten,  and  that  young 
nobleman  set  out  for  Brussels.  But  at  Co- 
logne he  had  the  good  fortune  to  wound  his 
hand  with  a  pistol,  and  was  thus  detained  long 
enough  to  save  him  from  losing  his  head. 

On  the  9th  of  September  all  was  ready.  In 
order  to  accomplish  the  arrests  in  a  quiet  and 
genteel  manner,  the  duke's  son,  Don  Ferdi- 
nando,  grand  prior  of  the  Knights  of  Saint 
John,  gave  a  splendid  dinner,  to  which  he  in- 
vited Egmont  and  Horn,  as  well  as  numerous 
other  nobles.  The  duke  himself  did  not  come, 
hut  he  sent  his  own  band  to  play  during  the 
banquet.  While  the  party  were  at  table,  there 
came  a  message  from  Alva,  desiring  the  gen- 
tlemen, after  finishing  their  repast,  to  call  on 
him  at  the  3faison  de  Jassey,  that  he  might 
have  their  advice  respecting  the  citadel  he  was 
about  to  build  at  Antwerp. 

Only  the  night  previous,  Egmont  had  re- 
ceived a  mysterious  warning  from  an  unknown 
Spanish  officer,  who  came  secretly  to  his  house 
to  beg  him  to  escape  before  the  morrow.  And 
now  his    host,   Don    Ferdinando    himself,   by 


THE   SEIGNIORS  ARRESTED.  193 

whose  side  he  was  sitting  at  table,  whispered 
in  his  ear,  "  Leave  this  place,  Signor  Count,  in- 
stantly ;  take  the  fleetest  horse  in  your  stables, 
and  escape  without  a  moment's  delay."  These 
ominous  words  disturbed  him  so  much  that  he 
rose  from  table,  resolved  to  take  the  advice. 
But  Noircarmes  followed  him,  to  ask  what  was 
the  matter,  and  on  learning  what  the  grand 
prior  had  said,  coolly  dissuaded  him  from  heed- 
ing the  mysterious  warning,  lest  his  flight 
should  appear  like  a  confession  of  guilt. 

Noircarmes  probably  knew  what  he  was 
about  when  he  gave  such  counsel.  Perhaps  he 
afterwards  had  great  satisfaction  in  remember- 
ing that  but  for  him  Alva's  exquisitely  ar- 
ranged plot  would  have  fallen  through.  There 
is  no  doubt  that,  like  Alva,  he  was  entirely  ca- 
pable of  betraying  a  friend  with  a  kiss.  Eg- 
mont  returned  to  the  table,  and  at  four  o'clock, 
when  dinner  was  over,  he  accompanied  the 
other  nobles  to  the  duke's  quarters  at  the  Jas- 
sey  House. 

Here  a  large  parchment  containing  the  plan 
for  the  proposed  citadel  was  spread  before  them 


194  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

for  examination.  The  engineers  were  present, 
also,  to  furnish  the  necessary  explanations. 
While  they  were  earnestly  discussing  the  plan, 
as  they  sat  around  the  table,  word  came  to  the 
duke  that  Egmont's  private  secretary,  Bakker- 
zeel,  —  the  same  who  had  been  so  diligent  in 
hanging  heretics  not  long  before,  —  and  the  sec- 
retary of  Count  Horn,  had  both  been  success- 
fully apprehended,  and  their  papers  secured. 
The  rich  burgomaster  of  Antwerp,  also,  An- 
tony Van  Straalen,  had  been  arrested  that 
same  afternoon,  while  riding  in  his  own  car- 
riage from  Antwerp  to  Brussels.  The  duke 
was  overjoyed.  But,  as  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
ceal his  feelings,  he  excused  himself  from  the 
company,  on  pretense  of  a  sudden  indisposi- 
tion. 

The  debate  over  the  plan  of  the  citadel  con- 
tinued until  after  dark.  When  the  council 
broke  up,  Egmont  was  requested  to  remain  for 
a  moment,  when  the  captain  of  the  guard  pro- 
ceeded to  arrest  him.  Surprised  in  spite  of  re- 
peated warnings,  he  could  not  refrain  from  re- 
marking bitterly,  as  he  gave  up  his  sword,  that 


THE    SEIGNIORS   ARRESTED.  195 

at  least  it  had  done  the  king  good  service  in 
other  days. 

Meanwhile  Horn  had  likewise  been  arrested 
in  another  part  of  the  mansion.  Two  upper 
chambers  had  been  arranged  for  the  temporary 
reception  of  the  two  prisoners.  Here  they  were 
separately  confined.  The  windows  were  well 
barricaded,  the  shutters  closed,  and  the  walls 
appropriately  hung  in  black.  Day  and  night 
candles  were  kept  burning  in  these  sepulchral 
cells,  as  if  to  make  the  darkness  visible.  Each 
prisoner  was  served  by  Spaniards,  always  in 
the  most  profound  silence,  and  watched  inces- 
santly by  Spanish  guards.  After  two  dreary 
weeks,  they  were  conveyed,  under  a  strong  es- 
cort, to  the  castle  of  Ghent. 

The  duke  was  exultant  over  that  afternoon's 
work.  The  details  of  the  plot  had  been  execut- 
ed in  the  neatest  possible  manner,  and  he  took 
immense  satisfaction  in  dwelling  upon  all  the 
particulars  in  a  letter  to  the  king  that  very 
evening.  Nevertheless,  the  regent  was  highly 
indignant,  not  because  the  arrests  had  been 
made,  but  because  they  had  been  made  with- 


196  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

out  leave  from  her.  Alva  excused  it,  on  the 
ground  that  he  wished  to  spare  her  the  odium 
of  having  any  share  in  the  affair,  but  he  was 
not  able  to  soothe  her  wounded  pride.  She 
felt  herself  abused  by  Alva's  presence  in  the 
Netherlands,  and  very  soon  requested  the  king 
to  release  her  from  the  regency.  She  declared 
that  she  meant,  until  his  reply  should  arrive, 
to  spend  her  time  in  journeying  and  hunting, 
leaving  public  affairs  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
The  king  was  delighted  when  he  received 
news  that  Egmont  and  Horn  were  safely  caged 
at  last.  Cardinal  Granvelle,  however,  who 
from  a  distance  was  watching  the  progress  of 
affairs,  declared  that  if  Alva  had  not  taken  the 
Prince  of  Orange  he  had  taken  nobody.  Our 
old  acquaintance,  Peter  Titelmann,  also,  held 
much  the  same  view  of  the  matter.  "Have 
they  also  taken  Wise  William  ? "  he  eagerly 
inquired,  on  hearing  of  the  capture  of  Egmont 
and  Horn.  "  Then  will  our  joy  be  but  brief," 
he  replied,  when  told  that  "  Wise  William " 
was  still  at  large.  "  Woe  unto  us  for  the 
wrath  to  come  from  Germany  !  " 


THE   SEIGXIORS   ARRESTED.  197 

On  that  triumphant  evening  of  September 
9th,  while  Alva  was  writing  of  his  recent  ex- 
ploits, he  laid  before  his  royal  master  an  out- 
line of  a  new  tribunal  which  he  was  going  to 
set  up,  for  the  specific  purpose  of  trying  crimes 
committed  during  the  late  tumults.  He  pro- 
posed to  call  it  the  Council  of  Troubles.  But 
it  soon  got  the  more  appropriate  name  of  the 
Council  of  Blood,  under  which  it  will  be  known 
as  long  as  human  history  endures. 

The  problem  in  hand  was,  how  to  despatch 
everybody  whom  it  was  desirable  to  get  rid  of, 
in  the  speediest  possible  way.  It  was  plain 
that  the  ordinary  tribunals  would  never  suffice. 

The  multitude  of  supposed  culprits  was  so 
immense  that  a  great  many  of  them  would  in- 
evitably have  time  to  live  their  lives  out,  and 
go  down  to  their  graves  in  peace,  before  their 
cases  could  possibly  be  reached,  at  the  slow 
rate  of  the  regular  courts.  Some  labor-saving 
machinery  must  be  devised,  by  which  justice 
might  be  administered  at  wholesale.  To  be 
sure,  the  inquisition  was  very  well  in  its  way, 
so  far  as  freedom  from  legal  hampers  was  con- 


198  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

cerned,  and  could  do  a  pretty  fair  business  in 
its  own  department.  But  these  were  supposed 
to  be  offenders  against  the  government  rather 
than  the  church ;  they  were  to  be  arraigned  for 
high  treason,  not  heresy.  Something  like  a 
political  inquisition  was  wanted,  therefore,  and 
this  Alva  proceeded  very  cleverly  to  construct. 

Considering  the  vast  amount  of  work  it  did, 
the  new  machine  was  surprisingly  simple. 
There  were  nominally  twelve  councilors,  but 
ten  of  them  were  mere  ciphers,  without  power 
to  vote.  The  two  significant  figures  standing 
at  the  head  were  Juan  de  Vargas  and  Del  Rio, 
lawyers  who  had  accompanied  the  duke  from 
Spain,  and  were  eminently  fitted  to  do  his 
bloody  work.  Yet  even  they  could  not  pro- 
nounce a  final  sentence.  The  duke  had  re- 
served that  power  to  himself,  being  aware,  as  he 
expressed  it,  that  "  the  men  of  law  only  con- 
demn for  crimes  which  are  proved"  a  principle 
by  which  he,  of  course,  could  not  be  expected 
to  abide. 

President  Yiglius  had  aided  Alva  in  selecting 
the  men  who  were  to  assist  in  condemning  for 


THE    SEIGNIORS   ARRESTED.  199 

crimes  which  were  not  proved.  He  had  per- 
formed the  task  with  great  judgment.  Noir- 
carmes  and  Berlaymont  had  justly  been  thought 
worthy  of  places  at  the  board.  But  even  they 
were  only  empowered  to  examine  the  evidence 
collected  for  them  by  a  host  of  commissioners 
sent  throughout  the  country  for  that  purpose. 
Cartloads  of  depositions  were  daily  brought  to 
the  duke,  who  turned  them  over  to  the  inferior 
councilors  for  inspection.  Yet  a  single  docu- 
ment frequently  embraced  in  one  compendious 
statement  the  case  of  twenty  or  a  hundred 
men,  who  were  generally  all  disposed  of  by  the 
same  sentence,  and  executed  almost  as  if  they 
had  but  one  neck.  The  work  went  on  with  as- 
tonishing despatch,  of  course,  and  yet  it  was 
not  soon  finished. 

One  would  suppose  that  the  labor  of  examin- 
ing such  heaps  of  papers  must  have  been  im- 
mense. But  there  was  one  circumstance  which 
afforded  infinite  relief  to  the  burdened  council- 
ors. No  matter  how  voluminous  and  conflict- 
ing the  testimony  in  any  given  case,  they  al- 
ways knew  how  to  decide.     However  long  and 


200  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

crooked  the  road,  it  was  sure  to  come  out  all 
right,  at  the  place  of  execution.  If  the  coun- 
cilors had  been  so  stupid  as  to  reach  any  other 
terminus,  they  were  sent  back,  with  a  repri- 
mand, to  try  it  over  again.  A  sentence  of  death 
was  never  wrong.  Nothing  else  was  ever  right. 
This  principle  once  established,  the  task  be- 
came delightfully  easy  and  simple.  What  pos- 
sible use  could  there  be  in  wading  through 
such  masses  of  evidence,  when  one  knew  be- 
forehand precisely  what  it  would  all  amount  to? 
The  parties  accused  were  of  course  guilty ;  it 
only  remained  to  report  that  So-and-so,  be  it 
one  man  or  a  hundred,  was  recommended  to  be 
hung  or  burned.  Yargas  and  Del  Rio  would 
naturally  approve  the  verdict,  and  the  duke 
would  order  execution  to  be  done  within  forty- 
eight  hours. 

It  is  related  that  Councilor  Hessels,  one  of 
the  Netherland  members,  used  to  sit  dozing  at 
the  council-board,  while  case  after  case  was  be- 
ing despatched.  When  wakened,  that  he  might 
give  his  opinion,  he  would  rub  his  eyes  and  ex- 
claim with  great  fervor,  "  To  the  gallows  with 


THE    SEIGNIGRS   ARRESTED.  201 

him !  to  the  gallows  with  him !  "  comfortably 
sure  that,  whoever  might  be  the  culprit,  the  cus- 
tomary sentence  could  never  come  amiss.  One 
day  it  was  found  that  a  person  whose  case  had 
just  come  up  for  trial,  by  some  slight  inadver- 
tence, had  been  executed  already.  "  Never 
mind  !"  said  Vargas,  laughing  at  the  joke  ;  "  if 
he  happened  to  die  innocent,  so  much  the  bet- 
ter for  him  when  he  has  his  trial  in  the  other 
world ! " 

The  multitudinous  victims  of  the  Blood 
Council  might  well  think  of  that.  Evidently, 
innocence  was  not  of  the  smallest  account  in 
Alva's  horrid  tribunal.  In  framing  his  new 
court,  the  duke  had  defined  treason,  in  eigh- 
teen articles,  so  comprehensive  that  very  few 
persons  could  fancy  themselves  safe  from  being 
convicted  of  that  crime.  It  was  pronounced 
treason  to  have  had  any  share  in  petitions 
against  the  new  bishoprics,  the  edicts,  or  the 
inquisition ;  to  have  tolerated  the  reformed 
preaching  anywhere  or  at  any  time  ;  to  have 
failed  to  oppose  the  field-preaching,  the  im- 
age-breaking, the  "  request ;"  to  have  asserted 


202  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

that  the  king  could  not  rightfully  deprive  the 
provinces  of  their  chartered  liberties,  or  that 
this  present  tribunal  was  bound  to  regard  any 
laws  or  charters  whatever. 

If  this  were  treason,  doubtless  nearly  every- 
body in  the  Low  Countries  had  committed  it, 
and  upon  that  supposition  the  Blood  Council 
appeared  to  proceed.  For  example,  it  is  re- 
lated that  Peter  De  Witt  of  Amsterdam  was  be- 
headed for  having  prevailed  upon  a  rioter  not 
to  fire  upon  a  magistrate.  The  fact  of  his  pos- 
sessing influence  over  a  rebel  was  taken  as 
evidence  that  he  was  a  leader  among  them  !  It 
is  not  unlikely,  however,  that  his  real  offense 
was  wealth.  There  was  no  immunity  for  a 
man  known  to  be  guilty  of  a  hundred  thousand 
florins.  Nothing  more  fatal  could  be  commit- 
ted. To  have  money  which  might  be  confis- 
cated was  enough  to  seal  any  man's  doom. 
Alva  had  promised  that  from  confiscations 
there  should  flow  to  Spain  a  steady  annual  in- 
come of  half  a  million  ducats,  or,  as  he  had 
poetically  expressed  it,  "  a  golden  river  a  yard 
deep."     Lest  emigration  should  divert  into  for- 


THE    SEIGNIORS   ARRESTED.  203 

eign  channels  any  more  of  the  Netherland 
wealth,  —  for  a  hundred  thousand  persons  had 
already  departed  to  other  lands,  —  it  was  for- 
bidden to  leave  the  country  at  all,  without  spe- 
cial permission,  to  ask  for  which  was  about  as 
much  as  one's  life  was  worth. 

The  new  tribunal  carried  on  its  bloody  busi- 
ness with  astonishing  activity.  Its  first  session 
was  on  the  20th  of  September,  less  than  a 
month  after  Alva's  arrival  in  the  Netherlands. 
Before  the  next  Christmas,  eighteen  hundred 
persons  had  suffered  death  by  its  decrees,  and 
yet  its  terrible  energy  did  not  abate.  For  ex- 
ample, on  the  4th  of  January,  1568,  eighty-four 
persons  from  the  city  of  Valenciennes  were 
condemned  in  one  lot ;  at  another  time,  ninety- 
five  individuals  from  various  parts  of  Flanders  ; 
again,  forty-six  citizens  of  Malines  ;  and  so  on. 
On  the  evening  of  Shrove-tide,  a  favorite  holiday, 
five  hundred  persons  were  carried  off  to  prison 
at  once,  though  many  intended  victims  had 
been  warned  in  time  to  escape.  "  The  whole 
country,"  says  Motley,  "  became  a  charnel- 
house,  the  death-bell  tolled  hourly  in  every  vil- 


204  WILLIAM   THE   SILEWT. 

lage,  not  a  family  but  was  called  to  mourn  for 
its  dearest  relations,  while  the  survivors  stalked 
listlessly  about,  the  ghosts  of  their  former  selves, 
among  the  wrecks  of  their  former  homes.  .  .  . 
The  scaffolds,  the  gallows,  the  funeral  piles, 
which  had  been  sufficient  in  former  times, 
furnished  now  an  entirely  inadequate  ma- 
chinery for  the  incessant  executions.  Columns 
and  stakes  in  every  street,  the  door-posts 
of  private  houses,  the  fences  in  the  fields,  were 
laden  with  human  carcasses,  strangled,  burned, 
beheaded.  The  orchards  in  the  country  bore  on 
many  a  tree  the  hideous  fruit  of  human  bodies." 
But  all  these  were  only  the  beginnings  of  sor- 
rows. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE   STATION'S   DEATH-WARRANT. 

ffOWARD  the  close  of  1567,  Margaret  of 
J  Parma  was  at  last  relieved  from  her  post 
^9  as  regent  of  the  Netherlands,  and  Alva 
was  commissioned  to  fill  the  vacant  chair, 
with  the  title  of  governor-general.  One  would 
suppose  Margaret's  administration  had  been 
sufficiently  severe,  but,  in  comparison  with 
Alva's,  it  was  mildness  itself.  The  king,  in 
releasing  his  sister  from  the  anxious  and  la- 
borious office  she  had  held  for  nine  years,  paid 
her  many  handsome  compliments,  in  order  to 
soothe  the  irritation  she  manifested  at  being 
virtually  superseded.  A  pension  of  fourteen 
thousand  ducats  a  year  for  life,  which  was  set- 
tled on  her  by  Philip,  together  with  a  parting 
present  of  fifty  thousand  florins  from  the  es- 
tates of  Brabant  and  Flanders,  was  still  more 

205 


206  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

consoling.  The  duchess  was  handsomely  es- 
corted to  the  frontier,  on  her  return  to  Parma, 
and  settled  down  at  home  to  enjoy  herself. 
Margaret  was  a  woman  who  in  our  day  would 
be  reckoned  among  the  "  strong-minded."  But 
we  can  not  help  fancying  that  when  she 
heard  of  the  horrors  perpetrated  in  the  Nether- 
lands in  subsequent  years,  she  must  have  con- 
gratulated herself  that  she  was  no  longer  re- 
sponsible for  what  was  going  on  there. 

The  Duke  of  Alva  had  early  assigned  to  sev- 
eral of  the  inferior  members  of  his  Blood  Coun- 
cil the  congenial  task  of  finding  evidence 
against  William  of  Orange,  his  brother  Louis 
of  Nassau,  and  several  other  gVeat  lords,  whose 
death-warrants  he  had  brought  with  him  in  a 
state  of  convenient  readiness  for  immediate 
use,  having  been  already  signed  in  black  by 
the  royal  hand.  The  commissioners  had  ap- 
plied themselves  to  the  work,  and  upon  the 
19th  of  January,  1568,  the  prince,  Count 
Louis,  Hoogstraaten,  and  others,  were  publicly 
summoned,  in  the  governor-general's  name,  to 
present  themselves  before    the   Blood  Council 


THE   NATION'S  DEATH-WARRANT.  207 

within  thrice  fourteen  days  from  that  date. 
Should  they  fail  to  appear,  they  were  to  suffer 
perpetual  banishment,  and  confiscation  of  their 
estates. 

Of  course  they  did  not  come.  The  prince  re- 
plied by  letter  that  he  did  not  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  that  court.  In  fact,  it  had  none, 
other  than  that  of  might  over  right.  It  had 
never  received  letters-patent  or  charter  from 
the  king,  the  governor-general,  the  estates  of 
the  realm,  or  any  other  source  whatever. 
Alva  had  simply  resolved  on  having  an  irre- 
sponsible court  to  do  his  butcheries  for  him, 
and  had  instituted  it  accordingly.  The  prince 
was  a  Knight  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  and,  as 
such,  could  be  only  tried  by  his  brethren  of 
that  illustrious  order,  when  duly  summoned 
by  the  king  as  head  of  the  chapter,  and  six  of 
his  fellow-knights.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Germanic  Empire.  As  such,  he  would 
cheerfully  answer  to  the  emperor  and  the 
other  princes,  but  never  to  the  Council  of 
Blood. 

Hitherto  the  prince  had  maintained  an  atti- 


208  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

tude  of  dignified  respect  toward  the  king,  care- 
fully avoiding  any  direct  hostility.  But  he 
now  had  occasion  to  defend  his  personal  rights, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  oppressed  nation.  At 
the  time  of  his  departure  for  Germany,  in 
April,  1567,  he  had  left  behind  his  eldest  son, 
Count  de  Buren,  a  boy  of  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  old,  who  was  studying  at  the  university 
of  Lou  vain.  Alva  bethought  him  that  he  could 
lay  hands  upon  this  child,  if  not  upon  the 
prince  himself.  Philip  gave  his  consent  to  the 
kidnapping,  and  it  was  speedily  accomplished. 

,  One  day  in  February,  1568,  there  came  to 
the  university  a  party  of  military  gentlemen, 
with  the  Seignior  de  Chassy  at  their  head,  who 
desired  to  see  the  young  Count  de  Buren  and 
his  tutor.  A  very  smoothly-worded  letter  was 
then  delivered  to  the  boy,  informing  him  that 
he  was  regarded  with  great  interest  by  the  king, 
who  was  desirous  to  have  him  educated  for  his 
especial  service.  His  majesty  had  therefore 
sent  the  Seignior  de  Chassy  to  make  to  him  a 
communication  of  great  importance. 

Of  course  all  this  was  very  delightful,  and 


THE   NATION'S   DEATH-WARRANT.  209 

the  boy  count  was  doubtless  wide  awake  to 
hear  what  the  Seignior  de  Chassy  had  to  tell 
him.  When  he  found  that  the  king  wished 
him  to  come  to  Spain,  to  be  educated  under 
his  own  supervision,  he  was  very  ready  to  say 
he  would  go.  Only  a  day  or  two  was  allowed 
before  starting,  during  which  the  little  count 
was  every  moment  watched  by  the  attendants, 
though  he  was  not  aware  of  it.  Two  valets, 
two  pages,  a  cook,  and  a  keeper  of  accounts, 
were  permitted  to  accompany  him,  besides  his 
tutor.  Thus  attended,  and  escorted  by  the  reti- 
nue of  De  Chassy,  the  boy  set  out  for  Antwerp, 
where  they  contrived  to  divert  him  with  vari- 
ous entertainments  until  he  was  fairly  on  the 
way  to  Spain. 

The  affair  had  been  so  artfully  managed  that 
the  boy  went  to  his  long  exile  as  if  to  a  pleas- 
ure excursion.  He  supposed  he  was  to  be  a 
guest  of  the  king,  not  a  prisoner.  Yet  it  was 
really  nothing  less  than  a  case  of  kidnapping. 
Philip  wanted  to  hold  the  heir  of  Orange  as  a 
hostage  for  the  prince's  obedience,  especially 
as  he  could  thus  insure  the  training  up  of  the 

14 


210  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

boy  in  the  Romish  faith.  It  is  sad  to  know 
that  the  son  of  such  a  father,  when  he  returned 
after  twenty  years  to  his  native  land,  was  much 
more  a  Spaniard  than  a  Netherlander.  The 
prince  was  robbed  of  his  son  more  completely 
than  he  could  have  been  by  death  itself. 

During  the  whole  winter,  the  Blood  Council 
was  hard  at  work.  Certain  magistrates  of  Ant- 
werp —  which  city  was  now  kept  in  wholesome 
subjection  by  the  duke's  new  citadel — did 
venture  to  beg  mercy  for  several  eminent  per- 
sons then  in  prison.  The  duke  grew  fearfully 
enraged  at  the  first  suggestion  of  such  a  thing, 
and  explicitly  told  .them  that  ujiless  they  were 
careful  how  they  behaved,  he  would  hang  every 
man  in  Antwerp,  as  a  warning  to  the  rest  of 
the  nation.  His  majesty  would  rather  the 
whole  land  were  an  uninhabited  wilderness 
than  that  a  single  heretic  should  be  left  in  it. 

It  seemed  not  wholly  improbable  that  the 
country  might  actually  be  depopulated,  at  the 
rate  at  which  executions  were  then  proceeding. 
Yet  this  consummation,  so  devoutly  longed  for 
by  Philip  and  Alva,  was  still  much  too  remote 


THE  NATION'S  DEATH-WARRANT.  211 

to  satisfy  their  ardent  desires.  Could  the  cer- 
emony of  indictments  and  prosecutions  be  en- 
tirely dispensed  with,  much  time  would  be 
saved.  And  here  the  inquisition  of  Madrid 
came  to  the  king's  aid.  The  problem  had  been 
laid  before  that  body,  together  with  informa- 
tion from  the  Netherland  inquisitors,  and  from 
his  majesty  himself,  respecting  the  state  of 
spiritual  and  temporal  affairs  in  that  unhappy 
country.  After  due  consideration,  the  Spanish 
inquisitors  pronounced  that  "  all  who  had  been 
guilty  of  heresy,  apostasy,  or  sedition,  and  all 
who,  though  professing  themselves  good  Cath- 
olics, had  offered  no  resistance  to  these,  were, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  persons  specified, 
thereby  convicted  of  treason  in  the  highest  de- 
gree." 

Accordingly,  on  the  16th  of  February,  15G8, 
the  Holy  Office  published  a  decree  by  which 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands  were  con- 
demned to  death  !  Everybody  was  presumed  to 
be  guilty  of  either  heresy  or  treason,  or  both. 
A  few  individuals  mentioned  by  name  were 
alone  excepted  from  the  universal  doom. 


212  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

This  summary  death-warrant  of  a  whole  na- 
tion seems  to  have  exactly  met  Philip's  views. 
It  was  just  the  thing.  Three  millions  of  peo- 
ple were  sentenced  to  death  in  three  lines : 
what  could  be  more  satisfactory  ?  The  king 
accordingly  issued  a  decree  confirming  the  sen- 
tence of  the  Holy  Office,  and  ordering  it  to 
take  effect  immediately.  It  brings  to  mind 
those  words  of  sacred  history,  —  "The  letters 
were  sent  by  posts  into  all  the  king's  provinces, 
to  destroy,  to  kill,  and  to  cause  to  perish,  all, 
.  .  both  young  and  old,  little  children  and 
women,  ....  and  to  take  the  spoil  of  them 
for  a  prey."  But  there  was  no  royal  Esther  at 
the  court  of  the  Spanish  Ahasuerus  to  intercede 
for  her  doomed  people. 

Invaluable  as  the  Council  of  Blood  had  been, 
its  services  seemed  almost  superfluous  now. 
There  was  no  longer  any  occasion  for  even 
mock-trials,  since  everybody  was  under  sen- 
tence of  death  already.  It  only  remained  to' 
hang,  bury  alive,  behead,  or  burn  whomsoever 
they  pleased,  at  their  earliest  convenience. 
Since   it   was   desirable   to   make   sure  of  the 


THE   NATION'S  DEATH-WARRANT.  213 

wealthy  victims  first,  however,  Alva's  trained 
hounds  were  still  kept  on  the  track,  for  they 
were  even  keener  to  scent  gold  than  blood. 
The  work  they  performed  was  marvelous.  In 
writing  to  Philip  one  day,  the  duke  incidentally 
mentioned  that  they  had  on  hand  eight  hun- 
dred persons  who  were  to  be  executed  as  soon 
as  "  holy  week"  was  over.  To  prevent  the  vic- 
tims from  uttering  disloyal  or  heterodox  senti- 
ments on  the  way  to  execution,  —  which  cer- 
tainly would  be  rather  natural,  —  they  had  in- 
vented an  ingenious  mode  of  insuring  silence. 
The  tongue  of  each  prisoner  was  tightly 
screwed  into  a  ring  made  for  the  purpose,  and 
then  seared  with  a  hot  iron.  This  caused  so 
much  swelling  that  it  was  impossible  to  remove 
the  ring,  and  of  course  a  speech  was  out  of 
the  question. 

A  strange  feeling  comes  over  one,  in  reading 
the  annals  of  this  reign  of  terror,  to  find  that 
there  was  no  wild  uprising  against  tyranny  like 
this,  no  sudden  outburst  of  irrepressible  fury 
against  the  murderous  hands  that  were  clutch- 
ing at  the  nation's  heart.     "  Thank  God,  all  is 


214  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

tranquil  in  the  Netherlands !  "  Alva  used  pi- 
ously to  exclaim,  after  the  falling  .of  some  new 
blow.  They  had  taken  it  very  quietly  when 
Egmont  and  Horn  were  arrested  ;  the  Blood 
Council  had  raised  no  tumult;  even  the  uni- 
versel  death-warrant  had  been  received  in 
dumb  despair.  But  to  us,  this  very  tranquillity 
is  awful.  We  can  not  help  shuddering  at  the 
preternatural  stillness.  It  is  like  nothing  else 
but  death.     The  whole  land  is  one  vast  tomb. 

Yet  buried  Liberty  was  to  have  a  resurrec- 
tion. There  was  one  whom  Heaven  had  sent 
to  roll  away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sep- 
ulcher,  and  already  he  was  at  hand. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 
i 

EXECUTION    OF  EGMONT  AND   HORN. 


ILLIAM  of  Orange  had  refused  to  appear 
at  the  summons  of  the  Blood  Council, 
$$f  anc*  that  body  had  proceeded  to  pass 
judgment  against  him  in  default.  From 
his  German  retreat  he  now  published  a  bold 
and  eloquent  defense,  in  reply  to  the  act  of  con- 
demnation. He  briefly  rehearsed  his  private 
wrongs,  refuted  false  accusations,  and  declared 
that  the  edicts,  the  inquisition,  and  the  perse- 
cutions had  caused  the  disturbances  of  the  last 
two  years.  In  vindication  of  his  course  he  ap- 
pealed to  the  judgment  of  the  world,  and  pub- 
licly declared  himself  the  champion  of  his  op- 
pressed people. 

Having  thus  thrown  down  the  gauntlet,  the 
prince  set  about  raising  funds  and  troops. 
Many  of  the  Protestant   princes   of  Germany 

215 


216  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

gave  him  their  countenance  ;  some  of  the  opu- 
lent Netherland  cities,  aided  by  wealthy  refugees 
in  England,  raised  a  hundred  thousand  crowns, 
and  he  himself  furnished  fifty  thousand  florins, 
though  he  was  obliged  to  sacrifice  his  splendid 
plate,  jewels,  and  tapestry  for  that  purpose. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  his  extensive  pos- 
sessions in  the  Low  Countries  had  been  confis- 
cated. Other  members  of  the  Nassau  family 
contributed  liberally  ;  and  preparations  for  war 
were  rapidly  urged  on. 

The  principal  campaign  of  the  spring  of  1568 
was  in  Friesland,  under  the  direction  of  the 
gallant  Count  Louis.  He  entered  that  province 
in  the  latter  part  of  April,  with  a  small  body  of 
troops,  and  many  of  the  peasants  rallied  around 
his  standard.  A  month  later  was  fought  the 
bloody  battle  of  Heiliger  Lee,  or  Holy  Lion, — 
so  named  from  a  neighboring  convent,  —  where 
Count  Louis  with  his  raw  recruits  defeated  a 
force  of  two  or  three  thousand  well-trained 
Spanish  soldiers.  Their  leader  —  Count  Arem- 
burg,  stadtholder  of  Friesland  —  fought  hand 
to  hand  with  the  brave  Adolphus  of  Nassau,  a 


EXECUTION   OF  EGMONT  AND   HORN.  217 

younger  brother  of  William  and  Louis ;  and 
botli  were  ultimately  slain.  It  was  worth 
something  to  have  found  out  that  veteran  Span- 
iards really  could  be  conquered  by  Netherland 
rustics.  Yet  it  proved  a  barren  victory.  Louis 
had  not  means  to  follow  up  the  advantage  he 
had  gained,  and  so  it  was  quickly  lost. 

The  duke  had  been  perfectly  sure  that  he 
should  hear  of  the  total  defeat  of  the  insurgents 
in  Friesland.  When  he  learned  that,  on  the 
contrary,  his  own  troops  had  been  defeated,  he 
was  exceedingly  mortified  and  enraged.  He 
instantly  decided  to  take  the  field  in  person. 
But  before  he  could  leave  Brussels,  several  im- 
portant matters  required  his  attention,  so  that 
his  departure  was  delayed  for  some  time. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  he  published  an  edict  of 
banishment  and  confiscation  of  estates  against 
William  of  Orange,  Louis  of  Nassau,  and  oth- 
ers. This  seems  to  have  been  little  else  than 
a  formal  reiteration  of  what  the  Blood  Council 
had  already  done.  He  also  had  the  Culemburg 
mansion  leveled  to  the  ground.  Upon  its 
ruins   lie  set  up  a  pillar  to  commemorate  the 


218  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

fact  that  within  those  now  prostrate  walls  had 
originated  the  accursed  "  league." 

But  more  serious  business  than  this  was  to 
be  done.  On  the  first  day  of  June,  eighteen 
prisoners  of  distinction  were  publicly  executed, 
upon  the  Horse  Market,  in  Brussels.  The 
scaffold  was  directly  opposite  the  windows  of 
that  "cruel  animal, Noircarmes,"  as  Hoogstraa- 
ten  denominated  him,  and  he,  together  with 
the  rest  of  the  Blood  Council,  was  looking  on. 
The  next  day,  Villars  —  the  leader  of  an  at- 
tempted insurrection  in  another  part  of  the 
country  about  the  same  time  with  Count 
Louis's  movement  in  Friesland —  was  put  to 
death,  together  with  three  others.  But  these 
were  only  the  preliminaries  to  a  more  imposing 
tragedy  of  the  scaffold. 

The  proceedings  against  Egmont  and  Horn 
had  been  entrusted  to  Vargas  and  Del  Rio. 
Two  months  after  their  removal  from  Brussels 
to  their  solitary  cells  in  the  castle  of  Ghent, 
these  functionaries  paid  them  a  visit,  as  if  to 
see  what  information  could  be  got  out  of  them. 
Alone  and  unassisted  by  counsel,  each  prisoner 


EXECUTION   OF  EGMONT  AND   HORN.  219 

was  questioned  and  cross-questioned  by  the 
two  Spanish  lawyers,  for  some  four  days. 
Their  private  papers,  as  well  as^ their  respective 
secretaries,  were  in  Alva's  hands,  and  Bakker- 
zeel  had  been  repeatedly  put  upon  the  rack,  in 
order  to  extort  from  him  something  against 
Egmont. 

Then  came  another  blank  interval  of  two 
months,  before  the  imprisoned  nobles  were  so 
much  as  informed  of  what  they  were  accused. 
At  last,  there  was  sent  to  each  a  copy  of  the 
charges  filed  against  him  by  the  procurator-gen- 
eral. These  documents  were  of  portentous 
length.  Horn's  offenses  were  enumerated  un- 
der sixty-three  heads,  and  Egmont's  were  set 
forth  in  ninety.  Each  prisoner  was  required  to 
furnish  a  written  reply  within  five  days,  unaided 
by  an  advocate  or  any  other  person  whatever. 

After  this  had  been  done,  a  pretense  was 
made  of  allowing  them  counsel,  and  commission- 
ers to  procure  any  testimony  desired.  It  was 
only  a  mockery,  for  Vargas  and  Del  Rio  took 
care  to  close  the  case  before  there  was  time  to 
present  a  single  deposition  in  behalf  of  the  pris- 


220  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

oners,  nor  were  they  permitted  to  Know  what 
evidence  there  was  against  them.  On  the  first 
day  of  June,  the  immense  mass  of  papers  relat- 
ing to  the  two  cases  was  laid  before  the  duke 
for  final  decision.  Three  days  afterward,  he 
announced  that  he  had  duly  examined  the  tes- 
timony, and  had  found  the  prisoners  guilty. 
Their  execution  was  appointed  to  take  place 
on  the  following  day.  Alva  was  in  great  haste 
to  set  off  for  Friesland,  but  he  thought  it  indis- 
pensable to  make  a  wholesome  example  of  the 
two  seigniors  before  his  departure,  especially 
as  they  might  otherwise  escape. 

The  Emperor  of  Germany,  the  Elector  Pala- 
tine, who  was  brother  of  the  Countess  Egmont, 
as  well  as  many  other  princes,  had  not  dis- 
dained to  intercede  with  the  king  of  Spain  for 
the  lives  of  Egmont  and  Horn.  They  pro- 
tested against  such  a  violation  of  the  statutes 
of  the  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  to  which 
both  the  doomed  nobles  belonged,  and  by 
which  they  had  a  right  to  be  tried.  They 
urged  that  Horn  was  also  a  count  of  the  em- 
pire, and  had  justly  demanded  to  be  judged  by 


EXECUTION   OF  EG  MONT  AND   HORN.  221 

his  peers,  the  electors,  and  princes  of  Germany. 
They  represented  that  Egmont,  as  a  citizen 
and  noble  of  Brabant,  was  entitled  to  the  privi- 
leges of  its  cherished  constitution.  But  these 
august  intercessions  were  all  unheeded.  Philip 
had  determined  that  whether  innocent  or  guilty, 
whether  by  fair  means  or  foul,  the  two  seigniors 
should  die. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  Egmont  and  Horn  were 
brought  from  Ghent  to  Brussels,  under  a  strong 
escort.  It  was  important  that  no  time  should 
be  lost  in  sending  for  them  after  sentence 
should  have  been  pronounced.  They  were  sep- 
arately lodged  in  a  certain  mansion  on  the 
great  square,  opposite  the  splendid  Hotel  de 
Ville,  or  Town  House.  This  building,  then 
the  "  Brood-huis,"  is  now  called  the  "  Maison 
du  Roi." 

It  was  on  the  following  day  that  Alva  pro- 
nounced their  doom.  That  afternoon,  he  sent 
for  the  Bishop  of  Ypres.  It  was  already  night- 
fall when  the  prelate  reached  the  palace.  He 
was  exceedingly  shocked  and  distressed  when 
the  duke  informed  him  that  Egmont  and  Horn 


222  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

were  to  be  executed  the  next  morning,  and 
that  it  was  to  be  his  dreadful  task  to  inform 
the  prisoners  of  their  approaching  fate,  and 
prepare  their  souls  for  death.  The  bishop  fell 
on  his  knees  before  the  governor-general,  to 
beg  at  least  a  brief  respite  for  the  condemned 
nobles,  but  Alva  roughly  answered  that  he 
wanted  none  of  his  advice.  The  criminals 
were  to  die  on  the  morrow,  and  he  had  only 
to  go  and  prepare  them  for  the  event. 

The  appalling  rumor  was  not  long  in  coming 
to  the  ears  of  the  unhappy  countess  of  Egmont. 
She  could  not  believe  it,  yet  she  hastened  to 
throw  herself  at  the  feet  of  the  cruel  man  who 
held  her  husband's  fate  in  his  hands,  and  beg 
for  mercy.  The  duke  coolly  assured  the  ago- 
nized wife  that  her  husband  would  without  fail 
be  released  on  the  morrow ! 

Egmont  was  sleeping  profoundly  —  for  it 
was  near  midnight  —  when  the  bishop  entered 
his  chamber.  The  very  apartment  is  still 
pointed  out  in  the  Maison  du  Roi.  The  prel- 
ate was  too  much  agitated  to  speak,  but  he  put 
into  the  count's  hands  a  copy  of  the  death-sen- 


EXECUTION   OF  EQMONT  AND   HORN.  223 

tence.  Egmont  read  it  to  the  end,  though 
overwhelmed  with  astonishment  at  this  sudden 
termination  of  a  prosecution  so  lingering. 
When  convinced  that  there  was  no  hope  of  re- 
prieve, he  addressed  himself  to  the  work  of 
preparation  for  his  approaching-  doom.  Hav- 
ing never  -wavered  in  his  fidelity  to  the  church 
of  Rome,  he  confessed  to  the  bishop,  and  re- 
ceived the  sacrament,  according  to  custom. 
At  times  the  remembrance  of  his  beloved  and 
desolate  family  overpowered  him.  Again,  the 
cruelty  and  injustice  of  his  sentence  roused  his 
indignation,  for  he  was  conscious  that  he  had 
always  been  loyal  to  his  sovereign.  Finally, 
becoming  somewhat  composed,  he  sat  down 
and  wrote,  in  French,  the  following  letter  to 
the  king  :  — 

"Sire,  —  I  have  learned  this  evening  the 
sentence  which  your  majesty  has  been  pleased 
to  pronounce  upon  me.  Although  I  have 
never  had  a  thought,  and  believe  myself  never 
to  have  done  a  deed,  which  could  tend  to  the 
prejudice  of  your  majesty's  person  or  service, 
or  to  the  detriment  of  our  ancient  and  Cath- 


224  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

olic  religion,  nevertheless  I  take  patience  to 
bear  that  which  it  has  pleased  the  good  God  to 
send.  If  during  these  troubles  in  the  Nether- 
lands I  have  done  or  permitted  aught  which 
has  had  a  different  appearance,  it  has  been 
with  the  true  and  good  intent  to  serve  God  and 
your  majesty,  and  the  necessity  of  the  times. 
Therefore  I  pray  your  majesty  to  forgive  me, 
and  to  have  compassion  on  my  poor  wife,  my 
children,  and  my  servants,  having  regard  to 
my  past  services.  In  which  hope  I  now  com- 
mend myself  to  the  mercy  of  God. 

"  From  Brussels,  — 

"  Ready  to  die,  this  5th  June,  1568. 
"  Your  majesty's  very  humble  and  loyal  vassal 
and  servant, 

"  Lamoral  d'Egmont." 

We  know  but  little  of  the  manner  in  which 
Count  Horn  passed  this  last  night  of  his  life. 
It  is  recorded  that  he  was  attended  by  the 
curate  of  La  Chapelle.  One  historian  repre- 
sents him  as  receiving  the  sudden  tidings  of  his 
condemnation  with  composure ;  while  another 


EXECUTION    OF   EGMONT  AND   HORN.  225 

says  his  indignation  was  vehement  and  passion- 
ate, in  view  of  the  injustice  with  which  he  had 
been  treated. 

The  short  summer  night  was  soon  ended,  and 
the  sun  rose  on  the  condemned  nobles  for  the 
last  time.  The  execution  was  to  take  place  in 
the  great  square,  where  in  happier  days  had 
been  held  many  a  gay  tournament,  and  Egmont 
himself  had  been  the  hero  of  the  festive  games. 
Alva  meant  that  the  spectacle  should  be  pro- 
foundly impressive,  and  had  arranged  all  its 
details  with  an  eye  to  dramatic  effect.  During 
the  night,  workmen  had  been  busy  in  erecting 
a  stage  for  the  intended  tragedy,  in  the  very 
center  of  the  spacious  square.  Three  thousand 
Spanish  troops,  in  battle  array,  surrounded  the 
fatal  spot.  The  scaffold  was  heavily  draped 
with  black,  hanging  like  a  funeral  pall  almost 
to  the  ground.  It  was  furnished  with  a  small 
table,  also  covered  with  black,  upon  which  was 
placed  a  silver  crucifix,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
prisoners  in  their  last  moments.  There  were 
two  velvet  cushions,  on  which  they  were  to 
kneel  to  receive  the   fatal    stroke.     Two  iron 

15 


226  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

spikes  were  fixed  to  the  corners  of  the  scaffold, 
on  which  were  to  be  exposed  the  severed  and 
gory  heads.  For  the  present  the  executioner 
was  concealed  beneath  the  drapery  of  the  scaf- 
fold ;  while  the  provost-marshal  sat  on  horse- 
back, his  red  wand  of  office  in  his  hand,  presid- 
ing over  the  scene. 

At  eleven  o'clock,  while  all  the  bells  were 
solemnly  tolling,  Count  Egmont  came  forth  to 
die.  He  was  escorted  by  Spanish  guards,  and 
the  Bishop  of  Ypres  walked  at  his  side.  It  was 
only  a  little  way  from  the  Brood-huis  to  the 
scaffold.  Egmont  advanced  with  a  firm  step, 
repeating  aloud  the  psalm  commencing,  "  Hear 
my  cry,  0  God,  and  give  ear  unto  my  prayer  !  "  * 

After  mounting  the  scaffold,  he  walked  back 
and  forth  once  or  twice,  exclaiming  passion- 
ately, "  Oh  that  it  had  been  my  happy  fate  to 
die  in  battle,  fighting  for  my  country  and  king !  " 
Then,  commanding  his  emotions,  he  threw  off 

*  There  is  a  slight  discrepancy  here  between  Motley  and  Prescott. 
Both  name  the  fifty-first  psalm  ;  but  it  is  the  sixty-first  from  which 
Motley  quotes  several  verses,  commencing  as  above  ;  and  he  alludes 
particularly  to  its  containing  a  prayer  for  the  king.  —  See  Dutch  Re- 
public, Vol.  II.  p.  205. 


EXECUTION   OF   EGMONT   AXD   HORN.  227 

his  crimson  damask  robe  and  embroidered  man- 
tle of  black,  together  with  the  insignia  of  the 
Golden  Fleece,  and  knelt  down  to  pray.  Hav- 
ing kissed  the  crucifix  handed  him  by  the 
bishop,  and  received  his  blessing,  he  took  off 
his  plumed  hat,  knelt  again  on  the  cushion,  and 
drew  a  little  cap  over  his  face.  Folding  his 
hands  reverently,  he  cried  aloud,  "  Into  thy 
hands,  0  Lord,  I  commit  my  spirit !  "  Then 
the  executioner  suddenly  appeared,  and  with 
a  single  stroke  of  the  sword  severed  his  head 
from  his  body. 

A  shudder  ran  through  the  vast  multitude 
that  witnessed  the  scene.  Even  the  Spanish 
soldiers  wept.  It  was  rumored  that  tears  fell 
from  the  cruel  eyes  of  Alva  himself,  as  he 
looked  on  from  a  neighboring  window. 

The  ghastly  corpse  was  quickly  concealed  by 
a  dark  covering ;  and  presently  Admiral  Horn 
was  seen  calmly  advancing  through  the  crowd, 
his  bald  head  uncovered,  and  his  attire  per- 
fectly plain.  He  said  a  few  kind  words  to  the 
people,  and  requested  them  to  pray  for  the  re- 
pose of  his  soul.     Having  been  assisted  by  the 


228  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

bishop  in  performing  his  devotions,  he  covered 
his  face,  and  repeating  the  same  Latin  invoca- 
tion used  by  Egrnont,  "In  manus  tuas,  Domine" 
etc.,  he  submitted  to  the  fatal  blow. 

In  all  that  weeping  and  indignant  throng, 
doubtless  there  were  few  individuals  who  had 
not  witnessed  public  executions  many  a  time. 
It  had  long  been  an  every-day  spectacle  to  see 
men  strangled,  beheaded,  or  burned.  Yet  not- 
withstanding this  inevitable  familiarity  with 
such  scenes,  the  populace  was  profoundly  moved 
by  the  deaths  of  Egrnont  and  Horn.  Both  were 
of  imposing  presence  and  exalted  rank ;  both 
had  long  been  prominent  in  public  affairs.  Eg- 
rnont, particularly,  attracted  the  people  by  his 
winning  and  gracious  manner,  though  he  was 
far  enough  from  the  heroic  self-devotion  that 
alone  could  have  made  him  the  champion  of 
the  oppressed.  It  was  with  unaffected  grief,  as 
well  as  horror,  that  they  gazed  on  that  fatal 
scene.  They  knew  it  would  not  be  the  fault  of 
the  king  or  the  governor-general  if  their  well- 
beloved  Prince  of  Orange  did  not  meet  a  like 
•doom. 


m 


CHAPTER   XYII 


THE   DUKE'S  NORTHERN   CAMPAIGN. 

Qjf  HE  duke  urged  on  the  preparations  for 
his  northern  campaign  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible ;  but  it  was  not  until  near  the  mid- 
dle of  July  that  all  was  ready,  and  he 
himself  had  reached  the  seat  of  war.  His 
force  consisted  of  about  fifteen  thousand  regu- 
lar troops,  together  with  a  large  number  of  new 
recruits. 

Six  weeks  had  passed  since  the  battle  of 
Heiliger  See  ;  but  the  insurgents  had  been  able 
to  effect  nothing  further.  Count  Louis  had  no 
money,  and  money  was  the  only  thing  his  Ger- 
man hirelings  considered  worth  fighting  for. 
The  peasantry  that  had  rallied  around  his 
standard,  too,  though  they  were  doubtless  pa- 
triotic, must  needs  have  something  to  live  on. 
Thus  the  whole  army  was  on  the  point  of  a 

229 


230  WILLIAM   THE   SILEtfT. 

mutiny,  for  want  of  pay ;  and  it  had  been  as 
much  as  their  gallant  young  general  could  do 
to  keep  them  together  at  all. 

The  duke  ascertained  that  the  whole  insur- 
gent force  was  entrenched  a  little  way  from 
Groningen.  On  making  a  reconnoissance  in 
person,  he  perceived  that  Louis  held  a  very 
strong  position.  His  front  was  protected  both 
by  the  river,  and  by  a  deep  trench  beyond  it. 
There  were,  it  was  true,  two  wooden  bridges  by 
which  the  river  might  be  crossed,  provided  the 
rebels  did  not  set  them  on  fire,  which  they  were 
evidently  prepared  to  do  at  any  moment. 

The  duke  ordered  one  or  two  small  detach- 
ments to  skirmish  with  the  enemy,  and  if  pos- 
sible to  draw  them  out.  Louis  felt  doubtful 
how  his  unpaid  and  mutinous  troops  would  con- 
duct themselves,  and  therefore  was  not  anx- 
ious to  engage.  But  toward  evening,  the 
Spaniards  provoked  a  body  of  the  enemy  into 
a  brisk  little  fight,  and  presently  drove  them 
back  across  the  river  in  a  great  panic.  The 
'fugitives  did  not  forget  to  set  fire  to  the  bridges, 
however,  by  means  of  a  great  store   of  pine 


THE   DUKE'S   NORTHERN   CAMPAIGN.  231 

torches  prepared  for  the  purpose,  and  thus 
gained  a  little  time  for  themselves.  Still  the 
panic  instantly  spread  throughout  the  entire 
army,  and  they  hurriedly  retreated,  hotly  pur- 
sued by  the  foe.  Three  hundred  of  Count 
Louis's  men  perished  that  evening,  and  Alva 
did  not  expect  ever  to  get  sight  of  the  routed 
army  again. 

The  fugitives  were  flying  toward  the  river 
Ems,  which  separates  the  provinces  from  Ger- 
many. Five  days  later,  Alva  reached  Reyden, 
a  village  upon  the  Netherland  side  of  the  river, 
where  a  bridge  invited  the  passage  of  the 
fugitives  into  the  German  territory.  But  he 
did  not  find  them  here."  Louis  had  gone  to 
Jemmingen,  a  few  miles  below,  and  had  taken 
up  a  position  where  his  men  must  either  con- 
quer or  die. 

The  Ems  is  here  so  deep  and  wide  as  to  be 
more  like  a  tide-inlet  than  an  ordinary  river. 
The  point  referred  to  is  only  a  few  miles  from 
the  Dollart,  —  a  great  circular  bay  formed  by 
a  terrific  inundation  three  hundred  years  before, 
—  into  which   the   river  empties.     There  is  a 


232  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

narrow  peninsula  lying  between  the  Ems  and 
the  Dollart,  and  in  a  corner  of  this  Louis  had 
taken  his  stand.  The  Spanish  army  lay  before 
his  camp,  and  everywhere  else  it  was  sur- 
rounded by  water.  Thus  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  the  insurgents  running  away,  however 
anxious  to  do  so  they  might  be.  Upon  sur- 
veying his  enemy's  position,  Alva  was  delighted 
to  find  him  as  snugly  entrapped  as  if  tied  up 
in  the  bottom  of  a  sack. 

No  doubt  the  duke  would  have  been  still 
further  encouraged  had  he  known  the  present 
temper  of  his  foes.  On  that  very  morning  — 
July  21st  —  the  troops  of  Louis  were  in  open 
mutiny,  declaring  that  there  was  gold  in  the 
camp,  and  that  they  would  have  it,  or  disband 
at  once.  The  count  did  his  utmost  to  soothe 
them,  but  in  vain,  for  he  had  no  money  to  give. 
Finally,  wearied  beyond  endurance  by  their 
clamor,  he  plainly  told  them  that  on  the  spot 
where  they  stood  they  must  either  defeat  the 
Spaniards,  or  be  put  to  the  sword  by  their  mer- 
ciless hands.  There  was  no  getting  away  from 
the  stern  alternative.     Either  to  fight  bravely, 


THE   DUKE'S  NORTHERN   CAMPAIGN.  233 

or  to  be  butchered  without  fighting,  was  the 
only  possible  choice.  It  would  be  idle  to  talk 
of  surrender,  for  their  enemy  gave  no  quarter. 

This  plain  setting  forth  of  the  situation  was 
not  without  effect,  and  order  was  partially  re- 
stored. The  country  immediately  in  front  of 
the  camp  was  low  and  swampy,  so  that  the 
only  approach  was  by  a  narrow  causeway.  By 
breaking  down  the  dikes  and  opening  the 
sluices,  their  position  could  be  rendered  inac- 
cessible, and  this  was  now  attempted.  But  the 
Spaniards  were  already  close  at  hand.  Before 
the  work  could  be  completed,  their  advance 
guards  came  up,  and  drove  back  the  troops 
who  were  destroying  the  dikes. 

Alva  was  thus  perfectly  sure  of  his  game. 
He  did  not  attempt  to  force  a  passage  into  the 
camp,  therefore,  but  rather  to  draw  his  enemy 
out.  The  bridge  at  Reyclen  was  occupied  by 
his  troops,  as  well  as  every  building,  of  what- 
ever sort,  along  the  road  leading  thither. 
Keeping  his  main  force  out  of  sight,  he  sent 
forward  fifteen  hundred  musketeers  to  tempt 
the  rebels  out  of  their  intrenchments  if  possi- 


234  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ble.  This  detachment  seemed  so  insignificant 
in  point  of  numbers,  that,  after  skirmishing 
warmly  for  some  hours,  Louis's  whole  army 
marched  forth,  expecting  to  put  them  to  instant 
flight.  But  the  Spaniards,  confiding  in  the 
concealed  reinforcements  which  they  knew 
were  close  at  hand,  stood  the  shock  without 
giving  way  in  the  least.  A  sudden  panic 
seized  the  insurgents  when  they  found  their 
foes  so  firm,  and  they  ran  back  in  wild  confu- 
sion. Not  a  single  soldier  was  left  to  man 
the  battery  commanding  the  causeway,  and 
Louis,  frantic  with  indignation  and  despair, 
fired  every  gun  with  his  own  hand.  The  next 
moment  the  battery  was  seized  by  the  Spanish 
vanguard,  and  turned  against  the  camp.  A 
terrible  massacre  followed.  The  insurgents 
were  penned  in  like  sheep  in  a  slaughter-house, 
and  the  Spaniards  gave  no  quarter.  Seven 
thousand  rebels  were  butchered  or  drowned  on 
that  day,  while,  as  historians  assert,  only  seven 
Spaniards  fell.  All  the  next  day,  and  the 
next,  the  slaughter  went  on,  for  many  fugitives 
had  gained  an  island  in  the  river,  or  had  con- 


THE  DUKE'S  NORTHERN   CAMPAIGN.  235 

cealed  themselves  in  swamps  and  thickets.  A 
Spanish  eye-witness  remarks  with  great  satis- 
faction that  there  was  "  not  a  soldier,  nor  even 
a  lad,  who  wished  to  share  in  the  victory,  but 
could  find  somebody  to  wound,  to  kill,  to  burn, 
or  to  drown." 

When  all  was  lost,  Count  Louis  himself 
threw  off  his  garments,  and  plunging  into  the 
broad  and  rapid  Ems,  swam  safely  across. 
There  was  yet  much  for  him  to  do  and  to  suf- 
fer in  his  country's  cause,  before  he  should  lay 
down  his  life  on  the  bloody  field  of  Mooker- 
heyde. 

On  their  way  back  to  Groningen,  whither  the 
Spaniards  returned  after  having  exterminated 
the  patriot  army,  they  committed  all  possible 
outrages,  without  restraint.  All  the  sky  was 
red  with  the  glare  of  burning  dwellings.  Even 
Alva  was  indignant  at  the  behavior  of  his 
troops,  and  actually  hanged  a  few  of  the  most 
eminent  ruffians  among  them,  by  way  of  satis- 
fying his  own  injured  dignity. 

At  Utrecht,  on  his  return,  he  was  met  by 
his   son   Don    Frederic,    with    heavy  reinforce- 


236  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ments.  A  grand  review  of  the  whole  army 
was  now  held,  which  was  found  to  number 
thirty  thousand  infantry,  and  seven  thousand 
horse. 

Thus  strong  and  victorious,  the  governor- 
general  proceeded  to  cut  off  the  head  of  an  old 
lady  in  Utrecht,  the  Trow  Van  Piemen  by 
name.  She  was,  to  be  sure,  an  excellent  Cath- 
olic, but  a  year  or  two  before,  her  son-in-law, 
dwelling  under  her  roof,  had  given  shelter  for 
a  night  to  a  heretic  preacher.  The  Vrow  Van 
Diemen  herself  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
matter,  but  unhappily  she  was  rich,  and  that 
was  just  as  bad.  They  were  obliged  to  place 
the  feeble  old  lady  in  a  chair  upon  the  scaffold, 
for  she  was  eighty-four  years  of  age.  She 
coolly  observed  that  she  saw  through  the  mo- 
tives of  those  who  were  about  to  put  her  to 
death.     They  wanted  her  money,  that  was  all. 

"  I  hope  your  sword  is  of  the  sharpest,"  she 
remarked  to  the  headsman,  "  for  my  old  neck 
is  very  tough."  And  thus  the  venerable  and 
courageous  lady  met  her  doom. 

The   duke   returned    to    Brussels    in    great 


THE   DUKE'S   NORTHERN   CAMPAIGN.  237 

glory,  having  shed  more  blood  than  he  could 
have  dared  to  hope.  Finding  that  the  accus- 
tomed daily  executions  had  unhappily  been  suf- 
fered to  languish  while  he  was  absent,  he  took 
up  the  matter  with  fresh  zeal.  It  was  no  time 
to  pause  in  the  hanging,  burning,  and  behead- 
ing while  so  many  opulent  persons  were  still 
alive.  The  distinguished  burgomaster  of  Ant- 
werp, Antony  Van  Straaten,  was  now  brought 
to  the  scaffold.  Van  Straaten  had  rendered 
such  eminent  services  to  the  government  in 
former  times,  especially  by  furnishing  funds  for 
the  brilliant  campaign  in  Picardy,  —  which  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  treaty  of  Cateau-Cambre- 
sis,  —  that  even  the  Blood  Council  had  not  the 
face  to  condemn  their  victim  without  recom- 
mending him  to  mercy.  But  it  was  of  no  avail. 
Bakkerzeel  and  La  Loo,  as  well  as  another 
person  of  rank,  were  executed  at  the  same 
time.  All  the  four  had  suffered  so  extremely 
upon  the  rack  that  it  was  necessary  to  carry 
them  to  the  scaffold,  and  fasten  them  into 
chairs,  in  order  that  the  headsman  might  do 
his  bloody  office.     As  the  burgomaster  yielded 


238  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

his  neck  to  the  fatal  stroke,  he  murmured 
aloud,  "For  faithful  service,  evil  recompense  !  " 
The  executions  went  on  hy  scores  and  hun- 
dreds. Among  the  rest,  the  same  provost-mar- 
shal of  Brabant  who  had  officiated  at  the  execu- 
tion of  Egmont  and  Horn,  and  who  had  long 
been  so  viciously  alert  in  arresting  victims  on 
every  side,  now  figured  on  that  very  scaffold 
himself.  Alva  took  a  fancy  to  hang  this  dili- 
gent functionary  for  malpractice,  as  was  as- 
serted by  a  label  fastened  to  the  breast  of  the 
luckless  "  Red-Rod  "  when  lie  swung  upon  the 
gallows.  He  was  accused  of  having  put  to 
death  many  persons  without  a  warrant,  and, 
worse  still,  of  having  been  bribed  to  let  other 
victims  escape. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

ORANGE  FOILED. 

EFORE  commencing  hostilities,  the  Prince 
of  Orange  had  planned  four  distinct  expe- 
ditions, by  which  the  deliverance  of  the 
Netherlands  should  be  attempted.  Of 
these,  three  had  already  come  to  a  disastrous 
end.  About  the  time  when  Count  Louis  in- 
vaded Friesland,  a  small  force  under  De  Villars 
had  entered  the  provinces  near  Maastricht. 
It  had  been  almost  immediately  routed  and 
destroyed,  and  its  leader  had  perished  on  the 
scaffold.  The  remaining  expedition,  consist- 
ing of  twenty-five  hundred  men,  under  De 
Cocqueville,  had  been  cut  to  pieces  in  Picardy, 
three  days  before  the  terrible  defeat  of  Jem- 
mingen. 

The  movement  which  the  prince  was  to  com- 
mand in  person  had  not  yet  been  undertaken. 

239 


240  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Under  these  disheartening  circumstances,  his 
German  friends  declared  that  he  ought  not  to 
attempt  it.  "  The  emperor,"  said  they,  "  has 
written  a  letter  to  the  most  Catholic  king  of 
Spain,  touching  his  policy  in  the  Netherlands, 
and  his  treatment  of  yourself.  You  have  only 
to  be  quiet  until  we  see  what  his  majesty  will 
do  about  it.  Provided  you  are  only  peaceable, 
and  don't  involve  all  the  rest  of  us  in  your 
quarrel,  things  may  yet  come  out  all  right." 

The  prince,  however,  was  not  sanguine  in 
regard  to  the  success  of  the  emperor's  media- 
tion. He  knew  just  about  what  might  be  ex- 
pected from  Philip.  First,  there  would  doubt- 
less be  an  ample  period  of  procrastination,  then 
an  artful  and  unsatisfactory  reply,  and  noth- 
ing more.  Meanwhile  the  martyrdoms  and 
confiscations  in  the  Netherlands  would  go  on 
as  usual,  so  long  as  people  and  money  re- 
mained. As  for  himself,  he  could  not  shut  his 
ears  and  harden  his  heart  against  the  cry  of  a 
nation  in  its  agony.  True,  the  cause  was  des- 
perate, but  so  much  the  more  did  he  feel  him- 
self bound  not  to  abandon  it.     Thousands  and 


ORANGE   FOILED.  241 

thousands  of  souls  rested  their  only  earthly- 
hope  on  him,  and  he  could  not  leave  them  to 
despair.  He  would  do  and  dare  everything, 
might  he  thus  become  their  deliverer. 

But  there  was  now  in  the  heart  of  William 
the  Silent  a  motive  deeper  and  stronger  than 
even  patriotism.  Of  late,  he  had  learned  to 
look  on  this  mortal  life  with  other  eyes  than 
when  his  years  glided  by  like  a  brilliant  and 
never-ending  tournament.  Then,  this  transient 
existence  was  all.  How  to  crowd  it  with  the 
utmost  of  pleasure  and  honor  and  power,  was 
the  only  problem.  Now,  he  looked  upon  it  as 
only  the  vestibule  of  the  great  eternity  to  come ; 
"  the  power  of  aii  endless  life  "  had  absorbed 
his  soul.  He  was  no  longer  a  gay  grandee,  nor 
merely  a  devoted  patriot,  but  a  deeply  religious 
man.  Henceforth  his  life  was  pervaded  with  a 
profound  sense  of  duty  to  Him  by  whom  he  had 
been  so  richly  endowed,  and  a  firm  and  peace- 
ful trust  ill  the  divine  guidance  and  support. 

During  the  last  year  of  his  stay  in  the  Neth- 
erlands he  had  identified  himself  with  the  Prot- 
estants in  a  degree,  though  he  did  not  publicly 

1G 


242  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

join  that  communion  until  a  later  period. 
Doubtless  his  early  education  in  the  Lutheran 
doctrine  had  something  to  do  with  this  change 
of  views,  as  well  as  his  alliance  by  marriage 
with  certain  Protestant  princes  of  Germany. 
While  in  retirement  at  Dillenburg,  he  had  de- 
voted himself  to  the  study  of  the  Reformed 
faith,  and  had  adopted  it  for  himself.  From 
this  time,  he  manifested  a  profound  and  prac- 
tical reliance  upon  God  in  all  the  chances  and 
changes  of  this  mortal  life.  But  he  had  no  dis- 
position to  persecute  those  of  a  different  reli- 
gion. He  had  risen  so  far  above  the  men  of  his 
time  as  to  comprehend  the  possibility  of  toler- 
ating those  whose  creed  differs  from  our  own. 
In  prospect  of  hostilities,  he  wrote,  "  Should 
we  obtain  power  over  any  city  or  cities,  let  the 
communities  of  papists  be  as  much  respected 
and  protected  as  possible.  Let  them  be  over- 
come not  by  violence,  but  with  gentle-minded- 
ness  and  virtuous  treatment." 

He  wrote  to  his  brother  Louis  in  the  "kindest 
and  most  sympathizing  terms  in  regard  to  the 
recent  disaster  of  Jemrningen,  though  it  was  in 


ORANGE    FOILED.  243 

a  great  degree  the  consequence  of  disregarding 
his  advice.  "  Nevertheless,"  he  added  in  con- 
clusion, "  since  thus  it  has  pleased  God,  we  must 
have  patience,  and  not  lose  courage,  conforming 
ourselves  to  his  divine  will,  as  for  my  part  I 
have  determined  to  do  in  everything  which 
may  happen,  still  proceeding  onward  in  our 
work  with  his  almighty  aid." 

Writing  to  his  wife  he  says,  "  I  go  to-mor- 
row, but  when  I  shall  return,  I  can  not  tell  you 
with  certainty.  I  have  resolved  to  place  my- 
self in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  that  he  may 
guide  me  whither  it  is  his  good  pleasure  that  I 
should  go.  I  see  well  enough  that  I  am  des- 
tined to  pass  this  life  in  misery  and  labor,  with 
which  I  am  well  content,  since  it  thus  pleases 
the  Omnipotent,  for  I  know  that  I  have  mer- 
ited still  greater  chastisement.  I  only  implore 
him  graciously  to  send  me  strength  to  endure 
with  patience." 

In  May  of  this  year,  the  emperor  Maximilian 
had  formally  required  the  Prince  of  Orange,  as 
a  member  of  the  German  empire,  to  desist 
from    all    warlike    enterprises    and    purposes 


244  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

against  Spain.  His  imperial  majesty  did  not 
care  to  become  entangled  in  the  Netherland 
troubles,  as  he  feared  he  should  if  he  lent  any 
countenance  to  the  military  movements  of  the 
prince.  And  this  formal  prohibition  was  evi- 
dently intended  as  a  public  washing  of  his 
hands  of  all  participation  in  the  affair. 

William  of  Orange  was  prepared  to  act  on 
his  own  responsibility,  however,  and  therefore 
paid  little  regard  to  the  imperial  mandate. 
Two  or  three  months  afterward,  he  published 
a  respectful  but  earnest  reply  to  the  emperor's 
letter.  He  took  the  ground  that  the  blame 
of  all  the  cruelty  and  misgovernment  in  the 
provinces,  from  the  first,  had  belonged  to  the 
cardinal,  and  to  the  Duke  of  Alva,  rather  than 
to  the  king.  Philip  had  been  misinformed  and 
misled  by  his  ministers.  It  was  against  the 
governor-general  and  the  Spanish  soldiery  that 
he  was  about  to  take  up  arms,  not  against  the 
sovereign. 

In  a  document  entitled  the  "  Justification 
against  the  false  blame  of  his  calumniators,  by 
the  Prince  of  Orange,"  he  thus  proclaimed  his 


ORANGE  FOILED.  245 

motives  and  his  aims  to  the  world.  "  We  are 
unable,  by  reason  of  our  loyal  service  due  to 
his  majesty,  and  of  our  true  compassion  for 
his  faithful  lieges,  to  look  with  tranquillity  any 
longer  at  such  murders,  robberies,  outrages, 
and  agony.  We  are,  moreover,  certain  that  his 
majesty  has  been  badly  informed  upon  Nether- 
land  matters.  We  take  up  arms,  therefore,  to 
oppose  the  violent  tyranny  of  the  Spaniards,  by 
the  help  of  the  merciful  God,  who  is  the  enemy 
of  all  blood-thirstiness.  Cheerfully  inclined  to 
wager  our  life  and  all  our  worldly  wealth  on 
the  cause,  we  have  now,  God  be  thanked,  an 
excellent  army  of  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artil- 
lery, raised  all  at  our  own  expense.  We  sum- 
mon all  loyal  subjects  of  the  Netherlands  to 
come  and  help  us.  Let  them  take  to  heart  the 
uttermost  need  of  the  country,  the  danger  of 
perpetual  slavery  for  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren, and  of  the  entire  overthrow  of  the  evan- 
gelical religion." 

In  answer  to  such  appeals,  there  were  abun- 
dant promises  of  money  from  wealthy  mer- 
chants and  nobles  of  the  Low  Countries.     The 


246  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

money  itself,  however,  came  but  scantily  to 
hand.  Exiles  who  had  lost  nearly  everything 
contributed  out  of  their  penury,  but  the  rich 
did  not  generally  cast  into  the  treasury  of  their 
abundance.  Yet  the  prince  was  not  the  man 
to  fold  his  arms  and  coldly  say,  "  If  oth- 
ers will  not  do  their  part,  I  will  do  nothing." 
In  the  latter  part  of  September,  he  mustered 
his  army  in  the  province  of  Treves.  It 
amounted  to  nearly  thirty  thousand  men,  in- 
cluding eight  or  nine  thousand  cavalry.  Hav- 
ing crossed  the  Rhine  with  his  troops,  he  fol- 
lowed along  down  its  western  bank  toward 
Cologne,  and  then  made  various  movements  in 
the  district  lying  between  the  Rhine  and  the 
Meuse,  as  if  he  had  not  fully  decided  what  to 
do  next.  Before  his  real  intention  was  suspect- 
ed, he  astonished  all  Europe  by  appearing  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Meuse,  with  his  whole  army. 

The  Meuse  was  a  deep  and  rapid  river,  and 
there  was  no  bridge.  Alva,  experienced  as  he 
was  in  military  affairs,  scouted  the  story  that 
the  prince  had  crossed  it.  "  Is  the  army  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange  a  flock  of  wild  geese,"  he 


ORANGE  FOILED.  247 

exclaimed,  "  that  it  can  fly  over  rivers  like  the 
Me  use  ?  "  At  Amsterdam  an  unfortunate  bur- 
gher was  publicly  whipped  for  even  repeating 
so  outrageous  a  piece  of  fiction.  Doubtless  he 
was  somewhat  consoled  for  the  disgrace  when 
it  shortly  appeared  that  the  rumor  was  true. 

The  prince  had  availed  himself  of  a  moon- 
light night,  and  having  stationed  a  large  and 
very  compact  body  of  cavalry  in  the  middle  of 
the  river  to  break  the  force  of  the  current,  — 
as  Julius  Caesar  before  him  had-  been  wont  to 
do,  —  had  safely  forded  it  with  his  infantry  just 
below.  Though  the  water  was  lower  than 
usual,  it  was  still  up  to  the  necks  of  the  sol- 
diers, so  that  the  passage  was  considered  a 
most  daring  and  brilliant  feat.  It  added  no 
small  eclat  to  the  commencement  of  his  cam- 
paign, and  he  advanced  toward  the  enemy  with 
flying  colors. 

Alva's  army  lay  near  the  city  of  Maestricht. 
It  consisted  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  foot, 
and  five  or  six  thousand  horse.  The  prince  was 
very  desirous  that  the  duke  should  give  him  bat- 
tle, and  therefore  stationed  himself  only  three 


248  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

or  four  miles  from  Alva's  camp.  But  the  duke 
had  made  up  his  mind  not  to  do  anything  of 
the  sort.  Delay,  alone,  must  speedily  melt 
away  the  limited  resources  of  his  foe,  and  con- 
sidering his  recent  exploits  in  Friesland,  the 
duke  felt  that  he  could  well  afford  to  refuse 
battle.  It  was  already  October.  He  had  only 
to  watch,  harass,  and  baffle  his  enemy,  until 
winter  should  force  him  to  abandon  the  cam- 
paign. 

Again  and  again  the  prince  offered  battle, 
but  Alva  steadily  refused.  Twenty-nine  times 
during  the  campaign  did  Orange  change  his 
position,  but  wherever  he  turned,  the  duke 
foiled  every  attempt  to  force  him  to  fight.  The 
inhabitants  were  in  such  mortal  terror  of  Alva 
that  they  dared  not  raise  a  finger  to  help  the 
prince.  Not  a  city  opened  its  gates  to  the  de- 
liverer. Little  forage  could  be  obtained ;  the 
German  hirelings  were  clamorous  for  either 
plunder  or  pay,  but  only  fruitless  skirmishes 
were  possible. 

On  one  occasion,  a  rear-guard  of  three  thou- 
sand men,  whom  Orange  had  left  to  protect  the 


ORANGE   FOILED.  249 

passage  of  the  army  across  a  river,  was  sud- 
denly surrounded  and  cut  to  pieces  by  a  detach- 
ment under  Don  Frederic.  Excited  by  this 
success,  the  young  officer  sent  an  importunate 
message,  begging  his  father  to  advance  with 
the  rest  of  the  army  and  finish  all  the  rebels  at 
once.  But  Alva  angrily  refused,  and  swore  by 
the  head  of  the  king  that  if  another  such  mes- 
sage were  sent,  it  should  prove  the  death-war- 
rant of  the  bearer.  This  was  the  only  consid- 
erable fight  during  the  whole  campaign.  It 
cost  the  insurgents  about  three  thousand  lives, 
besides  that  of  the  gallant  Hoogstraaten.  Only 
a  few  days  before,  as  he  was  sitting  at  supper 
with  Louis  of  Nassau,  he  pretended  to  believe 
that  there  was  no  need  of  the  late  retreat  in 
Friesland.  "  We  have  now  been  many  days 
in  the  Netherlands,"  said  he,  "  and  yet  we  have 
seen  nothing  of  the  enemy  but  their  backs." 
Louis  was  naturally  somewhat  annoyed  by  this 
playful  teasing,  and  replied  rather  crustily, 
"  When  the  duke  does  break  loose,  I  warrant 
you  will  see  their  faces  soon  enough,  and  re- 
member thern  for  the  rest  of  your  days." 


250  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Since  the  prince  could  effect  nothing  in  the 
Netherlands  under  existing  circumstances,  the 
Huguenot  officers  desired  him  to  lead  his  troops 
into  France,  and  aid  the  struggling  Protestants 
in  that  country.  But  his  German  hirelings 
had  no  fancy  for  going  further,  and  demanded 
to  be  conducted  home  again.  They  were  ac- 
cordingly disbanded  at  Strasburg.  The  prince 
was  obliged  even  to  pawn  his  camp  equipage, 
plate,  and  furniture  toward  making  up  arrears 
of  pay  ;  he  gave  his  sacred  promise  hereafter  to 
pay  the  full  amount  due.  A  band  of  twelve 
hundred  horse  decided  to  follow  the  prince  to 
France,  whither  he  went  early  the  next  spring, 
accompanied  by  Louis  and  their  younger  bro- 
ther, Henry,  then  a  college-boy  of  eighteen. 

Alva  went  back  to  Brussels  triumphantly, 
and  celebrated  his  own  achievements  with  gay 
festivals,  in  which  the  people  doubtless  had  lit- 
tle heart  to  join.  But  whether  cordially  or 
otherwise,  they  were  forced  to  put  on  smiling 
faces  and  holiday  attire,  while  the  church  bells, 
that   of  late   had  been  almost  always   tolling, 


ORANGE   FOILED.  251 

now  rang  their  merriest  peals  over  the  gov- 
ernor-general's triumph. 

To  the  mind  of  the  duke,  however,  these 
transient  demonstrations  seemed  entirely  inad- 
equate for  the  occasion,  and  he  set  about  pre- 
paring a  lasting  memorial  of  his  glorious  deeds. 
He  ordered  a  colossal  statue  of  himself  to  be 
fashioned  out  of  the  cannon  captured  at  Jem- 
mingen,  and  modestly  inscribed  it  as  follows:  — 

"  To  Ferdinand  Alvarez  de  Toledo,  Duke  of 
Alva,  Governor  of  the  Netherlands  under 
Philip  the  Second,  for  extinguished  sedition, 
chastised  rebellion,  restored  religion,  secured 
justice,  established  peace, — to  the  king's  most 
faithful  minister  this  monument  is  erected." 

Unfortunately  for  his  hopes,  this  monument 
came  to  an  untimely  end  before  many  years 
had  passed. 

Of  late,  many  princes  of  the  German  empire 
had  been  urging  the  emperor  to  use  his  influ- 
ence with  the  king  of  Spain  in  behalf  of  the 
Netherlands.  They  insisted  that  these  provin- 
ces, being  included  in  a  "circle"  of  the  empire, 
—  that  of  Burgundy, — were  clearly  entitled  to 


252  WILLIAM   THE   SILEXT. 

all  the  toleration  granted  by  the  religious  peace 
of  1555,  under  which  Upper  Germany  had  ever 
since  been  free  from  persecution  of  any  sort. 
The  emperor  Maximilian  was  naturally  of  a 
kind  and  benignant  temper ;  he  assured  the 
princes  that  he  had  considered  the  matter,  and 
was  about  to  send  his  brother,  the  archduke 
Charles,  on  a  special  mission  to  "  his  beloved 
cousin  and  brother-in-law,"  Philip  of  Spain. 

Late  in  the  autumn,  the  archduke  went  to 
Madrid,  and  had  his  first  audience  in  the 
month  of  December,  1568.  The  emperor  had 
instructed  him  to  speak  with  earnestness  and 
decision  in  his  name,  as  well  as  in  the  names 
of  the  princes  of  the  empire.  He  was  to  urge 
the  right  of  the  Netherlands  to  religious  tolera- 
tion, so  far  as  it  was  enjoyed  in  the  rest  of  the 
empire,  to  demand  that  the  provinces  should 
be  governed  with  less  severity,  and  to  insist  on 
the  recall  of  the  foreign  troops.  He  was  also 
to  remonstrate  especially  against  the  ill-treat- 
ment of  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

The  king  replied  haughtily  to  the  imperial 
envoy,  that  he  had  a  right  to  manage  his  own 


ORANGE,  FOILED.  253 

affairs,  without  being  called  to  account  by  bis 
neighbors.  As  to  the  idea  of  religious  tolera- 
tion, it  was  useless  to  speak  of  it.  He  should 
not  yield  so  much  as  a  hair's  breadth,  though 
the  heavens  were  to  fall.  He  had  commis- 
sioned the  Duke  of  Alva  because  it  suited  him 
to  do  so ;  he  had  sent  the  Spanish  troops  be- 
cause they  were  needed  to  deal  with  his  rebels ; 
and  he  should  keep  that  army  where  it  was. 
The  Prince  of  Orange  had  been  at  the  bottom 
of  all  the  mischief  from  first  to  last,  and  he 
should  never  pardon  him,  though  the  whole 
empire  should  go  down  on  its  knees  to  im- 
plore it. 

This  reply,  in  substance,  was  given  January 
20th,  1569.  Three  days  afterward  the  arch- 
duke made  a  spirited  rejoinder,  insisting  on 
his  former  positions.  There  is  no  knowing 
how  the  matter  might  have  ended,  but  for  an 
unexpected  event  which  the  emperor  had  not 
heard  of  when  the  archduke  set  out  for  Spain. 
The  king  had  recently  become  a  widower  for 
the  third  time,  by  the  death  of  his  queen,  Isa- 
bella of  France.     The  emperor  had  in  his  largo 


254  WILLIAM   THE   SILEXT. 

family  several  marriageable  daughters.  No 
sooner  had  the  news  reached  Vienna  than  the 
emperor  instructed  his  envoy  to  offer  Philip 
the  hand  of  the  archduchess  Anne. 

This  young  princess  had  once  been  promised 
to  Philip's  son,  Don  Carlos,  whose  mysterious 
death,  in  the  preceding  year,  has  been  so  gen- 
erally attributed  to  the  king's  own  hand. 
More  recently  there  had  been  talk  of  marrying 
her  to  the  king  of  France  ;  but  all  other  schemes 
were  now  dropped  to  snatch  this  chance  of 
making  her  queen  of  Spain  and  the  Indies. 
True,  she  was  Philip's  own  niece,  her  mother, 
the  empress  Mary,  being  the  daughter  of 
Charles  Y.  But  this  relationship  seems  to 
have  been  considered  a  very  trifling  objection 
in  those  days,  shocking  as  such  a  marriage 
would  be  to  us.  The  emperor  hastened  to 
smooth  over  the  almost  menacing  language  of 
his  late  communication  by  assuring  the  king 
that  no  offense  was  meant,  and  that  he  should 
be  satisfied  with  his  majesty's  response,  what- 
ever it  might  be. 

Accordingly  the  archduke  Charles  left  Mad- 


OBANGE   FOILED.  255 

rid  in  March,  well  pleased  that  he  had  been 
successful  in  negotiating  this  eminently  desira- 
ble match  between  uncle  and  niece,  and  that 
the  king  had  made  him  a  present  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns,  though  he  had  gained 
nothing  for  the  suffering  Netherlands,  where 
during  all  this  time  scaffolds  and  stakes  were 
as  much  in  demand  as  ever. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE   DUKE    TRIES  FINANCIERING. 

ARLY  in  the  same  year,  it  happened 
-  that  an  officer  of  justice  was  following 
£©  hard  on  the  track  of  a  poor  Anabaptist, 
named  Dirk  Willemzoon,  who,  after  being 
condemned  to  die  for  his  religion,  had  somehow 
escaped.  In  the  desperate  race  the  hunted 
heretic  had  crossed  a  frozen  lake,  where  at 
every  step  the  ice  threatened  to  give  way  under 
his  flying  feet.  But  he  had  just  gained  the 
bank,  when  the  officer  at  his  heels  suddenly 
found  himself  sinking,  and  cried  out  for  help. 
Poor  Willemzoon  was  too  much  of  a  Christian 
to  let  his  enemy  perish  before  his  eyes,  and  so, 
at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  he  came  back  across 
the  trembling  and  treacherous  ice,  and  saved 
the  officer.  One  would  say  that  an  act  so  no- 
ble should  have  gained  his  pardon,  and  had  he 

256 


THE   DUKE    TRIES   FINANCIERING.  257 

been  a  common  criminal  no  doubt  it  might. 
But  heresy  was  an  offense  for  which  nothing 
could  atone.  The  rescued  officer  was  forced 
again  to  arrest  his  magnanimous  deliverer,  who 
was  burned  alive  in  the  following  May.  Four 
eminent  clergymen  of  blameless  life  were  about 
the  same  time  executed  with  great  solemnity  at 
the  Hague  for  favoring  the  new  doctrines. 
These  are  but  specimens  of  what  was  con- 
stantly going  on. 

A  zeal  like  Alva's  seemed  to  merit  some 
special  reward  from  Rome  itself.  Accordingly 
the  pope  sent  the  faithful  governor-general  a 
present  of  a  jeweled  hat  and  sword,  together 
with  a  letter  from  his  own  hand,  desiring  him 
to  "  remember  when  he  put  the  hat  upon  his 
head  that  he  was  guarded  with  it  as  with  a 
helmet  of  righteousness,  and  with  the  shield  of 
God's  help,  indicating  the  heavenly  crown 
which  was  ready  for  all  princes  who  supported 
the  Holy  Church  and  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith." 

Apparently  the  duke  was  thus  stimulated  to 
fresh   exertions.     Orders    were   now  issued    to 

17 


258  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

the  municipal  authorities  throughout  the  land 
to  have  every  new-born  infant  baptized  into  the 
Romish  faith  within  twenty-four  hours.  It  was 
also  enjoined  that  every  dying  person  should 
receive  the  last  sacraments,  on  pain  of  having 
his  corpse  dragged  to  the  place  of  execution, 
and  his  estate  confiscated.  In  short,  nobody 
might  presume  either  to  enter  or  to  depart  this 
life  without  the  seal  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

Though  the  hostility  to  Alva's  administration 
was  general  as  well  as  intense,  it  had  not  hith- 
erto been  absolutely  universal.  It  is  true,  the 
greater  part  of  the  Netherland  population  was 
Protestant  in  faith,  and  not  a  few  of  those  who 
were  sincere  Romanists  had  suffered  confisca- 
tion or  death,  in  spite  of  their  orthodoxy. 
Still,  there  were  many  who  thus  far  con- 
trived to  escape  martyrdom,  and  did  not  aspire 
to  that  now  commonplace  distinction.  Pro- 
vided they  might  keep  their  heads  and  estates, 
they  would  content  themselves  with  whatever 
religion  and  government  they  might  be  allowed 
to  have.     But   even   these   comfortable,   easy- 


THE    DUKE    TRIES   FINANCIERING.  259 

tempered  folks  were  roused  up  at  last.  It 
happened  thus :  — 

The  duke  had  not  been  completely  satisfied 
with  the  proceeds  of  confiscations,  large  as  they 
were.  He  had  sometimes  complained  that 
even  the  incomparable  Council  of  Blood  did  not 
pay.  A  good  deal  of  the  plunder  inevitably 
stuck  to  the  fingers  of  the  functionaries  em- 
ployed in  gathering  it  up.  That  promised 
river  of  o;old  which  was  to  have  enriched  bar- 
ren  Spain,  instead  of  gushing  out  "  a  yard 
deep  "  from  its  perennial  fountain  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, had  proved  only  a  miserable  and  in- 
significant rill,  which  threatened  to  dry  up 
entirely. 

It  was  painful  to  think  what  would  become 
of  Spain  in  that  case.  Though  Philip  was  mas- 
ter of  half  the  world,  he  used  to  be  sorely  puz- 
zled as  to  "  how  to  make  the  two  ends  meet." 
It  is  amusing  to  read  over  a  memorandum*  still 
extant  in  his  own  peculiarly  awkward  hand- 
writing, wherein  his  financial  perplexities  are 
ruefully  set  forth.     He  was  making  a  rough  es- 

*  Quoted  by  Motley. 


260  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

timate  of  probable  expenses  and  income  for 
the  two  years  1560  and  1561.  Some  ten  mil- 
lion nine  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  ducats 
were  likely  to  be  required,  while  he  could  count 
upon  an  income  of  only  about  one  million 
three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand.  "  Thus," 
concluded  the  king,  "  there  are  nine  million 
less  three  thousand  ducats  which  I  may  look 
for  in  the  sky,  or  try  to  raise  by  inventions 
already  exhausted." 

The  case  looked  rather  doleful,  to  be  sure, 
especially  as  the  deficit  was  greater  by  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  thousand  than  the  royal 
blunderer  had  reckoned  it,  which  may  be  seen  by 
any  schoolboy  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  per- 
form this  little  example  in  subtraction.  Con- 
sidering that  Philip  possessed  all  the  New 
World  and  half  of  Europe,  one  would  say  his 
estates  were  very  badly  managed,  to  yield 
only  so  paltry  a  revenue.  Indeed,  the  political 
economy  of  despots  in  general  appears  strongly 
to  resemble  the  short-sighted  avarice  of  that 
woman  in  the  fable,  who  killed  her  hen  that 
daily  laid  a  golden  egg,  hoping  thus  to  get  all 


THE  DUKE    TRIES  FINANCIERING.  261 

the  gold  in  a  lump.  Precisely  this  experiment 
had  been  going  on  in  the  Netherlands,  and  Alva 
was  greatly  astonished,  like  the  woman  afore- 
said, that  its  results  should  prove  so  meager. 

Yet,  nothing  daunted  by  his  ill-success,  the 
duke  had  now  contrived  a  fresh  plea  for 
raising  money.  It  was  beautifully  simple,  like 
many  other  great  theories  and  principles,  but 
if  there  was  any  truth  in  figures,  it  must  yield 
regularly  at  least  two  millions  a  year,  besides 
paying  all  the  expenses  of  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment. It  was  merely  direct  taxation,  ac- 
cording to  the  following  method. 

First  of  all,  taxes  must  hereafter  be  imposed 
arbitrarily  by  the  crown,  not,  as  of  old,  by  the 
estates  themselves.  To  be  sure,  the  provinces 
had  a  very  stiff  and  absurd  prejudice  in  favor 
of  the  latter  method,  but  of  course  all  that 
must  be  done  away.  The  taxation  was  to  be 
according  to  the  following  scale,  viz.  :  — 

First,  one  per  cent,  upon  all  property,  of 
whatever  description,  to  be  paid  immediately. 
This   was   not    to    be    repeated,   unless   Alva 


262  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

should  find  it  convenient  to  exact  it  a  second 
time. 

Secondly,  five  per  cent,  upon  every  transfer 
of  real  estate.     This  was  to  be  perpetual. 

Thirdly,  ten  per  cent,  upon  every  article  of 
merchandise  or  personal  property,  to  be  paid 
every  time  it  sJiould  he  sold.  This  last  tax  was 
also  to  be  perpetual. 

No  sooner  were  these  decrees  laid  before  the 
estates  convened  for  that  purpose  in  Brussels, 
March  20th,  1569,  than  there  went  up  a  univer- 
sal cry  of  consternation  and  despair.  Catholic 
and  Protestant  saw  themselves  alike  involved 
in  one  indiscriminate  ruin.  Clearly,  it  was 
all  over  with  money-making  in  the  Netherlands. 
Possibly  the  tax  of  the  hundredth  penny  might 
be  endured  for  once,  heavy  as  it  would  be. 
But  to  be  forced  to  hand  over  to  government 
the  twentieth  part  of  the  price  of  a  lot  of  land, 
or  a  dwelling,  every  time  it  should  be  sold, 
was  altogether  outrageous  and  intolerable.  As 
to  paying  the  tenth  penny  upon  all  articles  of 
traffic  whatever,  nobody  could  find  words  to  ex- 
press what  they  felt.     It  would  amount  to  an 


THE  DUKE    TRIES  FINANCIERING.  263 

endless  though  piecemeal  confiscation.  Who 
could  calculate  how  many  times  over,  in  the 
course  of  a  single  year,  an  article  might  be 
taxed  to  its  full  value  ?  Who  could  afford  to 
buy  or  sell  at  all  ? 

The  deputies  went  home  to  their  respective 
constituencies  and  told  their  story.  It  stirred 
up  an  excitement  more  universal,  if  not  more 
violent,  than  all  which  had  gone  before,  for 
people  who  were  not  very  tender  in  the  con- 
science nevertheless  had  sufficient  sensibility 
in  the  region  of  the  pocket.  The  Netherlands 
had  indeed  become  well  inured  to  many  forms 
of  oppression  before  this  time.  For  more 
than  a  year,  the  entire  nation  had  been  under 
sentence  of  death,  and,  as  Motley  says,  was  well 
aware  that  "  its  universal  neck  might  at  any 
moment  be  laid  upon  the  block  without  cere- 
mony." People  had  dwelt  under  the  shadow 
of  the  gibbet,  or  within  the  lurid  glare  of  martyr- 
fires,  so  long  that  such  almost  seemed  the  nor- 
mal mode  of  existence.  But  this  was  a  new 
terror,  and  it  fell  upon  everybody.  Petitions, 
remonstrances,  and  memorials  poured  in  upon 


264  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  duke  in  overwhelming  numbers.  Even 
the  usually  pliant  and  obsequious  Viglius 
was  bold  to  speak  out  now.  He  told  the  duke 
plainly  that  such  a  system  could  never  be  en- 
forced. But  none  the  less  did  Alva  adhere  to 
his  darling  project. 

The  estates  yielded  so  far  as  to  promise  the 
hundredth  penny  for  once.  And  at  the  end 
of  the  three  months,  the  various  provincial  as- 
semblies had  been  so  much  worried  and  bul- 
lied by  the  governor-general  that  they  gave  a 
provisional  consent,  though  under  protest,  to 
the  imposition  of  the  tenth  and  twentieth  pen- 
ny, not  expecting,  however,  that  the  conditions 
would  ever  be  fulfilled. 

But  the  city  and  province  of  Utrecht  would 
not  yield  a  hair's  breadth.  They  promised  to 
pay  a  handsome  amount  instead  of  the  odious 
assessment,  but  to  the  tax  itself  they  would 
never  submit.  In  order  to  bring  them  to 
terms,  Alva  quartered  a  regiment  of  Spanish 
troops  upon  the  city.  It  was  expected  that 
their  insufferable  insults  and  outrages  would 
soon  convince  the  Utrecht  people  that  it  would 


THE   DUKE    TRIES  FINANCIERING.  265 

be  better  to  pay  the  tax  than  to  endure  the  sol- 
diers. However,  they  held  out  so  stoutly  that 
the  city  and  province  were  at  the  end  of  the  year 
pronounced  guilty  of  high  treason,  deprived  of 
all  charters  and  privileges,  all  public  and  private 
property,  real  or  personal,  and,  in  short,  every- 
thing. In  July,  1570,  the  sentence  took  effect, 
and  Utrecht  was  outlawed  and  beggared.  As  a 
last  appeal,  it  sent  envoys  to  the  king.  He  re- 
fused their  petition,  but  graciously  forbore  to 
take  off  their  heads,  which  was  more  than  could 
have  been  expected.  Spain  was  a  country 
from  whose  bourn  few  Netherland  travelers 
returned  in  those  days. 

Notwithstanding  the  fate  of  Utrecht,  the 
other  provinces  were  not  long  in  withdrawing 
their  reluctant  and  provisional  consent  to  the 
permanent  tax.  Alva  threatened  savagely,  but 
at  last  matters  were  compromised  by  an  agree- 
ment that  the  provinces  should  pay  two  mil- 
lions a  year  for  the  next  two  years,  instead. 
So,  until  near  the  close  of  this  interval,  the 
matter  was  suffered  to  rest. 

About  this  time,  the  king  concluded  to  try 


266  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  effect  of  an  amnesty,  for  so  many  people 
had  now  been  put  to  death,  so  many  estates 
confiscated,  that  the  thing  seemed  to  be  grow- 
ing somewhat  of  an  old  story.  Toward  the 
close  of  1569,  therefore,  he  sent  to  Alva  four 
different  forms  of  pardon,  out  of  which  he  was 
to  select  the  one  most  approved.  The  duke 
considered  the  matter  at  his  leisure.  After 
six  or  eight  months  had  elapsed,  the  long-anti- 
cipated amnesty  was  solemnly  proclaimed  at 
Antwerp. 

It  was  the  14th  of  July,  1570.  An  immense 
display  was  made  on  the  occasion,  considering 
what  a  trifling  amount  of  mercy  was  to  be  ex- 
hibited. There  was  first  a  splendid  procession, 
and  a  sermon  in  the  cathedral,  which  occupied 
the  forenoon.  After  dinner  came  the  great 
proclamation  itself.  The  duke  sat  in  magnifi- 
cent state,  upon  a  spacious  platform  covered 
with  scarlet  and  gold.  At  his  feet  stood  two 
very  beautiful  women  attired  as  if  for  an  alle- 
gorical tableau,  who  were  understood  to  repre- 
sent righteousness  and  peace.  These  sometimes 
conflicting  attributes  were  of  course  supposed 


THE   DUKE    TRIES  FINANCIERING.  267 

to  be  harmoniously  united  in  the  present  am- 
nesty. A  great  number  of  military  officers  and 
soldiers  lined  the  staircase  and  platform.  All 
Antwerp  thronged  around,  waiting  breathlessly 
to  hear  its  pardon,  which  was  read  by  a  civil 
officer  standing  between  two  heralds.  It  soon 
appeared  that  in  order  to  obtain  the  royal 
clemency,  one  must  be  reconciled  to  the  Ro- 
mish Church.  This  was  the  thing  of  all  others 
which  most  of  the  offenders  would  never  do. 
Furthermore,  there  were  so  many  exceptions 
that  nearly  everybody  was  excluded,  unless, 
indeed,  such  would  of  their  own  accord  come 
and  confess  their  crime,  within  six  months, 
when  they  might  hope  to  have  their  case  con- 
sidered. 

On  the  whole,  there  was  great  parade  and 
little  pardon.  Innocent  individuals  might  be 
forgiven,  provided  the  pope  should  approve. 
The  guilty  might  deliver  themselves  up  with- 
out delay,  and  the  Blood  Council  would  see 
about  them.  This  prospect  was  not  sufficiently 
flattering  to  allure  the  wandering  sheep  back 
to  the  fold.     The  green  pastures  of  Rome  were 


268  WILLIAM   THE  SILENT. 

hard  by  its  reeking  slaughter-house  ;  its  shep- 
herds had  blood  upon  their  hands.  And  so  the 
strayed  lambs  were  afraid  to  come  back  at 
their  call. 

Even  Yiglius  was  dissatisfied  with  the  am- 
nesty, though  he  himself  was  supposed  to  be 
one  of  the  just  persons  who  need  no  repentance. 
"  Certainly,"  wrote  he  to  his  confidential  friend 
Hopper,  "  a  more  benignant  measure  was  to  be 
expected  from  so  merciful  a  prince.  After 
four  years  have  passed,  to  reserve  for  punish- 
ment and  for  execution  all  those  who  during 
the  tumult  did  not,  through  weakness  of  mind, 
render  as  much  service  to  government  as  brave 
men  might  have  offered,  is  altogether  unexam- 
pled." 

Philip  had  expected  great  things  from  the 
effect  of  the  amnesty  on  the  popular  mind. 
But  the  infinitesimal  amount  of  mercy  which 
he  had  condescended  to  offer  was  utterly  inad- 
equate to  efface  the  bitterness  of  infinite  out- 
rages and  wrongs.  So  the  measure  amounted 
to  nothing  at  all. 

Just  about  this  time,  the  benign  monarch  of 


THE    DUKE    TRIES   FINANCIERING.  269 

Spain  arranged  a  clever  little  tragedy,  which 
was  secretly  performed  in  the  prison  of  Sinian- 
cas.  The  central  figure  of  the  hloody  drama 
was  Baron  Montigny  ;  the  other  principal  per- 
sonages were  the  executioner,  priest,  physician, 
guards,  etc.  We  have  not  space  to  rehearse 
the  several  acts  in  full.  They  were  elaborately 
prepared  by  the  royal  author,  even  to  the  mi- 
nutest details,  and  were  so  faithfully  performed 
that  he  was  delighted  with  his  own  ingenuity. 
Some  three  years  before,  the  other  of  the  two 
envoys,  Marquis  Berghen,had  been  so  fortunate 
as  to  die  of  a  fever,  and  the  king  now  caused 
the  public  to  be  informed  that  the  Seignior 
Montigny  had  departed  this  life  in  the  same 
manner.  The  royal  lie  was  generally  believed 
for  nearly  three  centuries,  but  recent  explora- 
tions in  the  Spanish  archives  have  exhumed 
the  entire  tragedy,  duly  set  forth  in  the  king's 
own  handwriting.  In  a  secret  letter  relating 
to  Alva  the  history  of  this  dark  deed,  the  king 
remarked  with  great  complacency  that  not  a 
person  in  Spain  doubted  that  Montigny  had 
died  of  a  fever.     He  piously  added  that  accord- 


270  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

ing  to  the  accounts  given  of  the  baron's  last 
moments,  it  might  be  hoped  that  God  would 
have  mercy  on  his  soul. 

Late  in  the  autumn  of  1570,  the  Netherlands 
were  visited  with  the  most  destructive  inunda- 
tion they  had  ever  known.  There  had  been  a 
violent  north-west  wind  for  weeks,  by  which 
the  waters  of  the  North  Sea  had  been  driven 
shoreward,  until  at  last  the  dikes  gave  way 
and  the  ocean  poured  in  upon  the  land.  Many 
cities  were  well-nigh  buried  in  the  waves.  All 
Friesland  was  converted  into  a  raging  sea,  for 
the  time,  in  which  dwellings,  animals,  and  hu- 
man beings,  both  the  living  and  the  dead,  were 
engulfed  together.  Here  and  there  some  tower 
or  tree-top  rose  above  the  angry  flood,— the  pre- 
carious refuge  to  which  clung  many  a  despair- 
ing wretch  who  had  lost  everything  but  life. 
As  the  flood  commenced  on  the  day  of  All 
Saints,  the  Spaniards  declared  it  was  the 
judgment  of  Heaven  on  heretics.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  one  hundred  thousand  persons  per- 
ished. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

THE    "SPECTACLES"    STOLEN. 

HE  Prince  of  Orange  was  now  again  in 

Germany.    Circumstances  had  called  him 

\p?)   back  from  France,  in  the  autumn  of  1569  \ 

and  in  the  disguise  of  a  peasant,  with 

only  five  attendants,  he  had  accomplished  the 

dangerous  journey. 

Count  Louis  had  remained  under  the  banners 
of  Coligny.  The  next  year,  when  that  great 
Huguenot  leader  lay  seemingly  at  the  point  of 
death,  all  to  whom  the  cause  was  dear  thought 
of  the  young  Count  of  Nassau  as  his  fitting  suc- 
cessor. But  the  admiral  recovered ;  and  the 
Huguenots  were  beguiled  into  a  hollow  and 
treacherous  peace,  which  was  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  long-intended  massacre.  The 
French  monarch  even  pretended  that  he  was 
going  to  embrace  the  cause  of  the  Netherland 

271 


272  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

people  against  Alva,  and  held  long  consulta- 
tions with  Coligny  on  the  best  plan  for  invad- 
ing the  Low  Countries.  Not  only  the  sanguine 
Louis  of  Nassau,  but  even  the  sagacious  admi- 
ral himself,  was  deceived. 

Meanwhile,  from  his  asylum  in  Germany,  the 
prince  was  intently  watching  the  course  of 
affairs  in  the  provinces.  His  secret  correspond- 
ent, Paul  Buys,  pensionary  of  Leyden,  used  to 
inform  him  of  all  that  was  going  on ;  and 
through  his  agency  the  prince  frequently  ex- 
changed letters  with  leading  personages  all  over 
the  country.  They  had  devised  various  means 
of  concealing  the  true  nature  of  their  corres- 
pondence from  any  chance  reader ;  for  in  those 
days  it  was  always  to  be  taken  into  the  account 
that  one's  letters  were  likely  to  be  intercepted. 
The  duke  of  Alva  was  invariably  mentioned  as 
"  Master  Powels  van  Alblas,"  Orange  himself 
was  called  "  Martin  Willemzoon,"  the  queen 
of  England  they  designated  as  "  Henry  Philip- 
zoon,"  the  king  of  Denmark  as  "  Peter  Peter- 
son." Instead  of  mentioning  any  particular 
month  of  the  year  by  name,  they  called  it  after 


THE    "SPECTACLES"    STOLEN.  273 

some  sign  of  the  zodiac.  Thus  they  contrived 
to  mystify  their  letters,  so  that,  to  any  one  not 
in  the  secret,  they  must  have  seemed  perfect 
nonsense. 

Before  going  to  France,  the  prince  had  com- 
missioned some  privateers  to  cruise  against 
Spanish  merchant-ships.  Admiral  Coligny  had 
subsequently  given  him  many  useful  suggestions 
as  to  the  best  mode  of  conducting  privateer 
warfare  ;  and  on  returning,  the  prince  issued 
very  strict  orders  about  discipline  to  his  sev- 
eral commanders.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
what  was  destined  to  become  a  famous  navy. 

For  the  present,  Orange  was  personally  in  a 
reduced  and  forlorn  condition,  like  the  cause  to 
which  he  had  devoted  his  all.  His  Dutch  es- 
tates had  been  confiscated,  his  private  effects 
had  been  sacrificed  to  defray  the  charges  of  his 
fruitless  campaign,  and  he  was  still  deeply  in- 
volved. To  his  enemies,  at  leastj  he  seemed 
only  the  wasted  shadow  of  the  stately  grandee 
who  had  once  lived  almost  like  a  king.  He 
was  an  exile  and  an  outlaw.  Instead  of  having 
a  splendid   retinue  of  nobles,  he  had  scarcely 

18 


274  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

menial  servants  to  attend  him.  From  one  of 
his  private  letters  Motley  quotes  a  passage 
showing  his  straitened  circumstances.  "  Send 
by  the  bearer,"  he  wrote,  "  the  little  hackney 
given  me  by  the  admiral ;  send  also  my  two 
pairs  of  trunk-hose,  —  one  pair  is  at  the  tailor's 
to  be  mended,  the  other  pair  you  will  please 
order  to  be  taken  from  the  things  which  I  wore 
lately  at  Dillenburg.  They  lie  on  the  table  with 
my  accouterments.  If  the  little  hackney  be 
not  in  condition,  please  send  the  gray  horse 
with  the  cropped  ears  and  tail." 

Amid  the  most  depressing  circumstances, 
however,  the  prince  was  uniformly  serene  and 
hopeful,  for  his  trust  was  in  God.  With  quiet 
perseverance  he  continued,  during  those  two 
gloomy  years,  to  send  agents  to  every  quarter 
where  there  was  any  prospect  of  obtaining  aid. 
Little  by  little,  funds  were  coming  in,  and  though 
his  envoys  to  Sweden  and  Denmark  received 
no  encouragement,  he  was  not  prevented  from 
despatching  them  to  the  various  courts  of  Ger- 
many on  the  same  errand. 

Early  in  the  year  1571,  the  duke's  favorite 


THE   "  SPECTACLES"    STOLEN.  275 

scheme  of  taxation  was  agitated  again.  The 
two  years  during  which  the  commutation  was 
to  be  accepted  would  close  with  the  month  of 
August.     What  should  be  done  next  ? 

"  Why,  of  course  you  are  hereafter  to  pay 
the  tenth  and  twentieth  pence,  just  as  you 
agreed  to  do,"  pronounced  the  duke. 

"  Not  at  all,  your  excellency,"  replied  the 
people.  "  That  is  precisely  what  we  then  re- 
fused to  promise,  and  do  refuse  still.  We  are 
not  niggardly,  but  we  will  never  submit  to  be 
saddled  with  a  permanent  tax  like  that.  When 
the  king  needs  money,  let  him  present  his  re- 
quest to  the  estates  of  the  realm,  as  our  consti- 
tutions require,  and  as  his  majesty's  predeces- 
sors have  always  done." 

The  Netherlanders  would  not  give  way,  nei- 
ther would  the  duke.  They  persisted  in  repu- 
diating his  abominable  tax,  and  he  proceeded, 
on  July  31st,  1571,  to  ordain  that  it  should  be 
at  once  enforced.  The  collision  was  tremen- 
dous. The  whole  nation  rose  like  one  man,  to 
protest  against  such  tyranny.  People  felt  tol- 
erably sure  that  the  measure  was  the  governor- 


276  WILLIAM   THE   SILEWT. 

general's,  rather  than  the  king's.  Even  in  Mad- 
rid many  severe  remarks  had  been  made  about 
it,  which,  of  course,  had  been  reported  in  the 
Netherlands.  Yiglius  himself,  though  he  had 
never  before  been  supposed  to  have  any  "  back- 
bone "  at  all,  now  stood  stiff  and  stanch  on 
the  popular  side.  He  had  the  shrewdness  to 
discern  that  the  wind  was  about  to  change,  and 
shaped  his  course  accordingly. 

About  this  time  Alva  was  officially  informed 
that  in  compliance  with  his  repeated  request  to 
be  relieved,  the  Duke  of  Medina  Coeli  had  been 
appointed  governor  in  his  stead.  But  as  his 
successor  could  not  immediately  enter  upon  his 
duties,  Alva  was  desired  to  continue  his  valua- 
ble services  still.  The  duke's  position  of  late 
had  been  far  from  agreeable.  His  present  pol- 
icy was  unsustained  by  a  single  person  of  influ- 
ence, he  was  hated  with  almost  superhuman 
energy  by  the  whole  population,  and  even  the 
king  was  growing  cool  toward  him.  It  was  £ut 
natural  that  he  should  be  anxious  to  retire. 

The  several  provinces  sent  envoys  to  confer 
with  the  king  personally  in  regard  to  the  tax. 


THE    "SPECTACLES"    STOLEN.  277 

Of  course  this  was  done  without  the  duke's 
leave.  His  majesty  reprimanded  the  envoys 
for  having  ventured  to  come  thus,  and  caused 
them  to  understand  that  he  was  displeased  with 
their  remonstrances.  Yet  they  were  assured 
that  the  king  would  consider  the  subject. 
Meanwhile,  he  did  not  decide  that  the  tenth 
penny  must  be  paid,  neither  did  he  say  it  need 
not  be.  So  the  general  posture  of  affairs  re- 
mained unchanged. 

In  fact,  the  uproar  was  so  formidable  that 
Alva  soon  remitted  the  tax  upon  four  very  im- 
portant articles  of  traffic,  viz.,  grain,  meat, 
wine,  and  beer.  It  was  also  removed  from  raw 
material  used  in  manufactures.  Yet,  since  the 
tax  was  obviously  no  less  unconstitutional  than 
before,  the  provinces  persisted  in  refusing  to 
pay  a  stiver  of  it.  Rather  than  submit  to  the 
imposition,  they  would  sell  no  goods  at  all. 

So  the  people  coolly  shut  up  their  shops  alto- 
gether. "  The  brewers  refused  to  brew,"  says 
an  historian  of  that  day,  "  the  bakers  to  bake, 
the  tapsters  to  tap."  Business  was  at  a  dead 
lock.     Every  branch  of  industry  was  paralysed. 


278  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

Immense  numbers  of  persons  thus  thrown  out 
of  employment  were  forced  to  beg. 

Alva  was  beside  himself  with  rage  at  the  ob- 
stinacy of  the  Dutch  shop-keepers  and  mer- 
chants. He  resolved  that  a  few  of  these  stiff- 
necked  tradesmen  in  Brussels  should  at  least 
be  compelled  to  furnish  a  wholesome  example 
to  the  rest.  So  one  evening  in  the  beginning 
of  April,  1572,  he  privately  summoned  Master 
Carl,  the  public  executioner.  "  Make  ready 
this  very  night,"  said  the  wrathful  duke, 
"  eighteen  ropes,  and  as  many  ladders  twelve 
feet  in  length.  To-morrow  morning  I  will 
have  you  hang  up  a  dozen  or  two  of  these  ob- 
stinate butchers  and  bakers  in  their  own  shop- 
doors."  Then  he  sent  Don  Frederic  to  wake 
up  President  Viglius,  that  he  might  make  out 
the  warrants  for  these  impromptu  executions. 
But  while  these  fatal  preparations  were  in  pro- 
gress, there  came  news  which  put  a  stop  to  the 
governor-general's  highly  original  measures  for 
reviving  business.  The  rebels  had  captured 
Brill. 

Some  three  years  before,  the  Duke  of  Alva 


THE   "SPECTACLES"    STOLEN.  279 

had  fallen  into  a  furious  quarrel  with  the  Queen 
of  England.  It  must  be  confessed  that  Eliza- 
beth had  given  provocation  sufficient  to  stir  up 
a  meeker  nature  than  his.  By  chance  certain 
Spanish  merchantmen,  having  on  board  eight 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  payment  of 
Philip's  Netherland  army,  were  chased  by  some 
French  privateers,  and  found  shelter  in  an  Eng- 
lish port.  They  were  afraid  to  put  to  sea  again, 
because  they  knew  the  privateers  were  lying  in 
wait  to  pounce  upon  them,  so  they  had  their 
case  represented  to  the  queen.  Her  majesty 
promised  to  attend  to  it,  and  forthwith  laid 
hands  upon  the  specie  in  their  charge,  which 
she  coolly  appropriated  to  her  own  benefit.  To 
the  Spanish  embassador  residing  at  her  court 
she  explained  this  proceeding  in  two  separate 
ways,  either  of  which  he  might  accept,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  taste.  In  the  first  place,  she 
had  taken  the  money  in  charge,  to  be  kept  safe 
for  her  royal  brother  of  Spain.  Secondly,  the 
treasure  was  not  Philip's  at  all,  but  belonged 
to  certain  Genoese  merchants,  who  had  loaned 
it  to  her. 


280  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

Alva,  being  particularly  in  need  of  funds, 
was  ready  to  burst  with  rage  when  he  heard 
the  story.  By  way  of  retaliation,  he  com- 
manded to  arrest  every  English  subject  in  the 
Netherlands,  and  to  confiscate  all  English  prop- 
erty there.  But  two  could  play  at  this  game, 
and  Elizabeth  at  once  ordered  that  all  Nether- 
landers  in  her  realms  should  be  treated  in  the 
same  way.  Of  course  the  commerce  of  both 
countries  suffered  immensely  while  the  long 
quarrel  was  going  on. 

In  fact,  Elizabeth  had  more  reason  to  be  on 
bad  terms  with  Philip  than  she  was  aware  of 
at  that  time.  It  appears  that  her  royal  brother- 
in-law  cherished  the  design  of  seizing  and  put- 
ting her  to  death,  in  order  to  place  Mary  of 
Scotland  upon  the  throne,  and  restore  England 
to  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  pope  pronounced 
it  a  holy  undertaking,  and  gave  it  his  heartiest 
benedictions.  One  assassin  after  another  was 
hired  and  sent  over  to  do  the  deed,  but  in  vain. 
The  conspiracy  was  detected,  but  Philip's  share 
in  the  plot  remained  a  secret. 

In  the  beginning  of  1572,  matters  were  be- 


THE    "SPECTACLES"   ^TOLEN.  281 

ginning  to  look  like  an  amicable  adjustment  of 
this  quarrel  between  Elizabeth  and  Alva.  The 
English  government  was  urged  to  withhold  sup- 
plies from  the  Netherland  privateers  that  often 
visited  its  ports.  Admiral  de  la  Marck,  wi.th 
twenty  vessels,  was  at  this  very  time  lying  upon 
the  southern  coast  of  England.  Accordingly, 
near  the  close  of  March,  Elizabeth  forbade  her 
subjects  to  supply  the  rovers  of  de  la  Marck 
with  bread,  meat,  or  beer.  Of  course,  nothing 
remained  but  for  the  privateers  to  set  sail  for 
some  more  hospitable  shore.  Being  very  hun- 
gry, their  first  thought  was  to  get  something  to 
eat.  They  steered  for  the  coast  of  North  Hol- 
land, meaning  merely  to  make  a  sudden  foray, 
supply  themselves  with  provisions,  and  be  off. 
But  the  wind  prevented  their  reaching  their  in- 
tended port,  and  so,  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  April  1st,  1572*  the  fleet  appeared 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Mouse,  before  the  town 
of  Brill,  now  called  Briel. 

Brill  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  its  un- 
expected visitors.  The  squadron  numbered 
twenty-four  sail.     The  vessels  looked    neither 


282  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 


like  Spanish  ships  nor  like  traders.  Peter  Kop- 
pelstock,  a  ferryman  accustomed  to  ply  between 
Brill  and  a  town  on  the  opposite  shore,  gave  it 
as  his  opinion  that  the  strangers  were  the  fa- 
mous "  beggars  "  of  the  sea.  Everybody  stood 
aghast  at  that  terrible  name,  but  Peter  Koppel- 
stock  declared  that  he  was  going  to  find  out 
who  they  were,  anyhow.  So,  rowing  boldly  out 
to  the  fleet,  which  had  now  dropped  anchor,  he 
hailed  one  of  the  vessels. 

This  vessel  happened  to  be  under  the  com- 
mand of  William  de  Blois,  Seignior  of  Tres- 
long,  whose  father  had  once  been  the  governor 
of  Brill,  and  who  knew  Koppelstock  very  well. 
As  the  men  were  on  the  point  of  starvation,  it 
was  necessary  to  get  speedy  supplies,  in  some 
way.  Treslong  now  persuaded  Admiral  de  la 
Marck  to  send  a  message  demanding  the  sur- 
render of  the  city  of  Brill.  Accordingly  the 
ferryman,  who  secretly  favored  the  patriot 
cause,  rowed  back  to  the  shore,  pushed  through 
the  crowd  of  agitated  spectators  at  the  landing, 
and  made  his  way  directly  to  the  town-house, 
where  he  delivered  his  message  to  the  assem- 


THE   "SPECTACLES"    STOLEN.  283 

bled  magistrates.  He  contrived  to  convey  the 
impression  that  the  rebel  cruisers  numbered 
about  ten  times  as  many  as  they  really  did; 
and  though  the  city  was  well  fortified,  the  idea 
of  resistance  was  instantly  dropped.  Some 
proposed  to  negotiate,  others  advised  to  fly. 
Finally,  having  sent  two  deputies. to  arrange 
matters  with  the  bold  invaders,  the  burghers 
meanwhile  gathered  up  their  valuables,  and  de- 
parted. De  la  Marck  had  given  them  two 
hours  to  consider  whether  or  not  they  would 
surrender  to  him  as  admiral  of  the  prince. 
When  the  time  was  up,  these  "  beggars  of  the 
sea  "  appeared  before  the  walls,  but  they  found 
nobody  to  reply  to  their  summons.  A  few  of 
the  lower  class  remained  in  the  city,  but  they 
were  incompetent  either  to  surrender  or  defend 
it.  Treslong  led  one  division  of  the  little  force 
against  the  southern  gate,  and  presently  effected 
an  entrance.  The  other  party,  led  by,  the  ad- 
miral, set  fire  to  the  northern  gate,  and  the 
timbers  having  been  partially  burned,  they  bat- 
tered it  down  with  the  end  of  an  old  mast. 
The  siege  lasted  scarcely  an  hour ;  before  the 


284  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

sun  went  down,  Brill  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
patriots. 

The  "  beggars  "  behaved  with  much  moder- 
ation, in  this  first  conquest  on  shore.  No  citi- 
zen was  harmed  that  day,  though  thirteen  eccle- 
siastics were  imprisoned,  and  finally  executed, 
by  order  of  the  savage  admiral.  The  hungry 
officers  and  men  quartered  themselves  in  the 
deserted  mansions  of  the  rich  burghers,  where 
they  probably  did  not  spare  either  larders  or 
wine-cellars.  They  afterwards  indulged  their 
hatred  of  the  Romish  religion  by  sacking  the 
churches.  Treslong  carried  off  the  golden 
chalices  of  the  sacrament,  to  use  for  drinking- 
cups  in  his  cabin.  Another  captain,  named 
Adam  van  Haren,  paraded  his  vessel's  deck  ar- 
rayed in  one  of  the  magnificent  chasubles  which 
the  priests  used  to  wear  at  high  mass. 

When  the  news  reached  Brussels,  Alva  was 
perfectly  furious.  It  had  never  occurred  to  him 
that  the  rovers  whom,  at  his  own  request,  the 
Queen  of  England  had  so  obligingly  expelled 
from  her  ports,  could  possibly  perpetrate  such 
a  piece  of  mischief  as  this.     It  was  necessary 


THE    "  SPECTACLES"    STOLEN".  285 

to  lay  aside  the  eighteen  ropes  and  ladders 
which  Master  Carl  was  preparing,  as  well  as  the 
death-warrants  which  President  Viglins  was  re- 
luctantly making  out.  It  would  never  do  to 
let  the  rebels.hold  Brill,  and  Count  Bossu,  stadt- 
holder  of  Holland  and  Zealand,  was  instantly 
sent  off  to  recover  it. 

Very  naturally,  the  people  of  Brussels  re- 
garded this  capture  as  the  best  piece  of  news 
that  had  reached  their  ears  for  a  long  time,  and 
they  took  care  that  the  duke  should  not  soon 
hear  the  last  of  it.  The  word  "  Brill,"  as  it 
happened,  was  the  same  as  the  Flemish  name 
for  spectacles.  A  caricature  was  soon  flying  all 
over  the  city,  in  which  de  la  Marck  was  repre- 
sented as  adroitly  stealing  the  duke's  specta- 
cles from  his  very  nose,  while  Alva  was  exclaim- 
ing with  affected  indifference,  as  he  often  did 
wlien  secretly  chagrined,  —  "It  is  nothing!  it 
is  nothing!"  Moreover,  as  the  capture  had 
taken  place  on  the  first  day  of  April,  they  made 
up  and  repeated  a  provoking  couplet  to  tills 
effect :  — 

"  On  April  Fool's  day 
Duke  Alv&Is  spectacles  were  stolen  away." 


286  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Little  as  he  anticipated  it,  the  governor-gen- 
eral was  destined  never  to  get  back  his  stolen 
spectacles.  Count  Bossu  took  ten  companies 
of  soldiers  from  Utrecht,  and  four  days  after 
'the  capture, — on  Easter  Sunday,  April  6th, — 
he  summoned  Brill  to  surrender.  The  patriots 
hesitated  to  sally  forth  against  the  Spaniards, 
for  their  own  force  numbered  only  two  or  three 
hundred  men.  But  they  called  in  the  ocean  to 
their  rescue.  In  the  city  there  was  a  carpenter 
whose  heart  had  long  been  with  the  patriot 
cause,  and  he  found  a  rare  chance  to  serve  it 
now.  Boldly  plunging  into  the  river,  ax  in 
hand,  he  swam  to  the  Niewland  sluice.  Only 
a  few  strokes  of  the  hatchet  from  his  stalwart 
arm  were  needed  to  hack  open  the  gate,  and 
the  water  poured  in  upon  the  land  to  such  a 
depth  that  the  city  could  not  be  approached  on 
the  northern  side  at  all.  The  Spaniards  then 
made  their  way  along  the  top  of  the  Niewland 
dike  to  the  southern  gate,  but  here  they  re- 
ceived so  warm  a  salute  from  the  artillery  that 
they  began  to  wish  themselves  somewhere  else. 
At  the  same  moment,  they  discovered  that  Tres- 


THE   "SPECTACLES"    STOLEN.  287 

long  had  contrived  to  set  some  of  the  ships  on 
fire,  and  cut  the  rest  adrift,  and  also  that  the 
sea  was  already  overflowing  the  dike,  —  their 
only  foot-hold.  In  the  headlong  panic  that  fol- 
lowed, many  slipped  from  the  narrow  causeway 
and  perished  in  the  waves,  but  the  greater  part 
of  the  force  managed  to  escape  by  means  of  a 
few  vessels  not  yet  out  of  reach.  So  ended  this 
attempt  to  recover  Brill.  No  sooner  was  the 
danger  past  than  the  admiral  mustered  the  cit- 
izens, many  of  whom  had  already  returned, 
and  made  them  swear  allegiance  to  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  as  stockholder  for  his  majesty,  —  an 
office  which  William  had  filled  for  many  years 
before  going  to  Germany,  as  the  reader  will 
doubtless  remember. 

The  prince  had  long  wished  to  get  possession 
of  some  seaport  as  a  basis  of  operations,  and 
Brill  was  well  suited  to  his  purpose.  But  he 
doubted  whether  de  la  Marck  would  be  able  to 
hold  it,  with  the  slender  resources  at  his  com- 
mand. Indeed,  the  admiral  would  never  have 
thought  of  seizing,  and  much  less  of  retaining 


288 


WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 


the  town,  but  for  the  influence  of  Treslong.  As 
it  turned  out,  however,  the  Spaniards  never  re- 
covered Brill  again,  and  its  capture  ushered  in 
a  long  train  of  successes  to  the  patriot  cause. 


CHAPTER    XXL 


SUNSHINE   AND   STORM. 


'LUSHING,  a  very  important  town  on  the 
Isle  of  Walcheren,  having  heard  what 
Brill  had  done,  at  once  took  courage  to 
drive  out  the  small  Spanish  garrison 
quartered  there.  As  it  happened,  however,  the 
troops  had  but  just  been  expelled  from  the 
gates,  when  some  Spanish  ships  arrived  in  the 
harbor,  bringing  a  large  reinforcement,  in  or- 
der to  finish  the  fortress  which  Alva  had  com- 
menced in  Flushing  some  time  before.  By 
way  of  intimating  the  present  temper  of  the 
people  toward  their  foreign  visitors,  a  poor 
simple,  half-drunken  fellow  was  permitted  to 
fire  off  two  pieces  of  artillery  at  the  Spanish 
vessels.  The  new-comers,  altogether  con- 
founded at  the  unexpected  position  of  affairs, 
in  sudden  panic  stood  away  toward  Middelburg, 

19  289 


290  WILL  I A  M   THE   SILENT. 

and  soon  disappeared.  The  city  at  once  sent 
envoys  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  in  the 
mean  time  obtained  a  small  number  of  men 
from  de  la  Marck  to  form  a  garrison.  Half 
the  isle  of  Walcheren  soon  renounced  Alva's 
authority.  Next,  Enkhuyzen,  the  chief  arsenal 
of  the  Netherlands  and  the  key  of  Zuyder  Zee, 
went  over  to  the  party  of  Orange.  Almost  sim- 
ultaneously nearly  all  the  chief  cities  of  Hol- 
land and  Zealand  threw  off  the  yoke,  and  many 
towns  of  Gelderland  and  Friesland,  as  well  as 
other  provinces,  soon  followed  their  example  in 
vowing  allegiance  to  the  prince  and  accepting 
garrisons  from  him.  The  new  magistrates 
were  required  to  swear  fidelity  to  the  king  of 
Spain,  and  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  as  stadt- 
holder  for  his  majesty ;  for  William  now  re- 
sumed, upon  his  own  responsibility,  the  office 
he  had  formerly  held.  They  were  further  to 
vow  hostility  to  the  duke,  the  "  tenth  penny," 
and  the  inquisition,  "  to  support  every  man's 
freedom  and  the  welfare  of  the  country,  to  pro- 
tect widows,  orphans,  and  miserable  persons, 
and  to  maintain  justice  and  truth." 


SUNSHINE  AND   STORM.  291 

Thus  the  rebellion  was  against  Alva,  rather 
than  Philip.  The  blame  of  the  misery  under 
which  the  land  groaned  was  laid  chiefly  at  the 
door  of  the  governor-general,  where  in  truth 
much  of  it  belonged.  Let  the  king  but  have 
the  provinces  governed  according  to  their 
ancient  constitutions,  which  at  his  accession  he 
had  solemnly  sworn  to  maintain,  and  the  peo- 
ple would  ask  no  more.  As  yet,  it  was  not  rev- 
olution they  wanted,  but  reform. 

The  prince  himself  was  still  in  Germany, 
raising  troops  and  funds.  He  now  sent  Died- 
rich  Sonoy  to  Enkhuyzen,  as  his  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor for  North  Holland.  His  written  instruc- 
tions were  "  to  see  that  the  word  of  God  was 
preached,  without,  however,  suffering  any  hin- 
drance to  the  Roman  Church  in  the  exercise  of  its 
religion;  to  restore  fugitives  and  the  banished 
for  conscience'  sake,  and  to  require  of  all  mag- 
istrates and  officers  of  guilds  and  brotherhoods 
an  oath  of  fidelity."  In  the  formula  of  that 
oath,  drawn  up  by  the  prince  himself,  intoler- 
ance was  again  expressly  prohibited.     "  Like- 


292  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

wise  shall  those  of  f  the  religion'  offer  no  let  or 
hindrance  to  the  Roman  churches." 

Near  the  end  of  May,  1572,  the  gallant  Louis 
of  Nassau  by  a  sudden  and  brilliant  stratagem 
captured  Mons.  This  was  the  capital  of  Hai- 
nault,  and  was  situated  near  the  frontier  of 
France.  Not  only  its  location,  but  also  its 
strong  defenses,  and  its  great  wealth,  ren- 
dered it  a  very  important  post. 

The  tidings  reached  Alva  in  the  midst  of 
thickening  disasters  at  the  north,  and  for  the 
time  he  was  almost  frantic  with  wrath.  As- 
sailed in  so  many  quarters  at  once,  he  hardly 
knew  which  way  to  turn.  But  it  was  clear 
that,  come  what  would,  Mons  must  not  be 
abandoned,  and  so  Don  Frederic  was  at  once 
despatched  thither  to  lay  siege  to  it. 

Though  Count  Louis  had  abundance  of 
courage,  he  had  not  a  force  sufficient  to  sustain 
a  long  siege.  But  the  prince  had  now  hired 
twenty  thousand  German  soldiers  for  three 
months,  and  was  on  his  way  to  the  relief  of  his 
gallant  brother.  The  king  of  France,  more- 
over, had   promised   to   do  his  utmost  to  aid 


SUNSHINE   AND   STORM.  293 

the  Netherlands  against  Spain,  so  that  there 
seemed  much  hope  of  success. 

Toward  the  middle  of  June,  the  Duke  of 
Medina  Coeli  arrived  with  a  large  fleet.  The 
new-comers  knew  nothing  of  the  recent  events, 
until  the  cruisers  captured  a  few  of  their 
smaller  vessels.  The  new  governor-general 
himself  barely  escaped  being  made  prisoner ; 
while  a  large  fleet  from  Lisbon,  entering  the 
Scheldt  just  in  the  wake  of  the  other,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  patriots  of  Flushing.  This 
was  a  valuable  prize,  for,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
rich  cargo,  there  were  on  board  five  hundred 
thousand  crowns  in  gold,  besides  a  thousand 
Spanish  soldiers,  and  a  quantity  of  ammuni- 
tion. 

This  capture  was  extremely  vexatious  to 
Alva,  who  was  in  desperate  need  both  of  money 
and  men.  He  was  at  length  compelled  to  give 
up  trying  to  enforce  his  odious  "  tenth  penny  " 
tax,  and  in  summoning  a  meeting  of  the  es- 
tates-general, to  be  held  at  the  Ilaguc  on  the 
loth  of  July,  he  stated  that   he  was  about  to 


294  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

propose,  as  a  permanent  arrangement,  to  take 
two  millions  a  year  instead  of  it. 

However,  it  was  now  too  late  for  such  a  com- 
promise. The  estates  would  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  the  detested  tyrant.  They  as- 
sembled on  the  day  appointed,  but  it  was  in 
response  to  another  call  than  his.  William  of 
Orange  had  convened  them  at  Dort.  He  sent 
Saint  Aldegonde  to  the  meeting,  as  his  per- 
sonal representative.  The  prince's  policy  was 
heartily  adopted,  and  measures  were  at  once 
taken  to  raise  funds  for  sustaining  the  war 
against  Alva.  There  was  great  enthusiasm 
among  the  people,  and  at  present  the  skies 
looked  bright  for  the  patriot  cause. 

Yet  the  clouds  were  even  then  about  to  "  re- 
turn after  the  rain."  The  latter  half  of  this 
year,  whose  spring  had  given  such  promise  of 
reviving  liberty,  was  dark  indeed. 

"While  the  prince  was  advancing  from  Ger- 
many to  the  relief  of  Mons,  a  Huguenot  force 
was  also  on  the  way  thither  from  France.  The 
two  armies  were  to  effect  a  junction  before  at- 
tempting  to   raise   the   siege.     Unfortunately, 


SUNSHINE   AND   STORM.  295 

Genlis,  the  French  commander,  was  hasty  and 
over-confident,  and  this  led  to  the  destruction 
of  his  army  and  his  own  capture,  when  he  had 
arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  Mons.  More 
than  a  year  afterward,  Alva  —  imitating  the 
method  of  Philip  with  Montigny  —  caused 
him  to  be  secretly  strangled  in  the  castle  of 
Antwerp,  and  reported  that  he  had  died  a  natu- 
ral death. 

The  misfortune  of  Genlis,  however,  did  not 
bring  Count  Louis  to  despair,  for  his  brother  of 
Orange  was  advancing  to  his  relief,  and  the 
French  king  had  promised  to  send  an  army  un- 
der Admiral  Coligny.  But  while  William  was 
delayed  for  want  of  funds  to  pay  his  troops, 
there  came  news  of  the  terrible  massacre  of 
Saint  Bartholomew.  The  stupendous  crime 
plotted  so  long  ago  had  been  perpetrated  at 
last.  It  had  been  done  in  frenzied  haste,  and 
without  the  co-operation  of  Spain,  of  course, 
and  so  the  slaughter  was  not  the  universal  ex- 
tinction of  Protestantism  which  had  been  origi- 
nally designed.  Yet  not  less  than  twenty-five 
thousand  —  some  historians    reckon  the    num- 


296  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ber  much  higher  —  of  French  Protestants  had 
been  butchered  in  cold  blood  by  the  royal 
command.  Among  them  had  perished  the 
brave  Coligny,  and  the  other  Huguenot  chiefs. 

The  prince  felt  the  awful  stroke  to  his  in- 
most soul.  It  was  as  if  he  had  been  felled  to 
the  earth  "  with  the  blow  of  a  sledge-hammer," 
to  quote  his  own  words.  There  could  no 
longer  be  any  hope  of  aid  from  France  ;  Mons 
must  doubtless  fall,  and  the  campaign  would 
end  in  gloom  only  the  deeper  from  the  contrast 
to  its  bright  beginning.  Yet  Orange  pursued 
his  way,  resolved  if  possible  to  provoke  the 
Spaniards  to  a  pitched  battle,  since  their  en- 
trenchments were  too  strong  to  be  forced,  and 
Mons  could  not  be  succored  so  long  as  Alva 
kept  his  present  position.  But  the  duke  re- 
fused battle  as  steadily  as  in  the  campaign  four 
years  before.  There  was,  however,  a  night 
attack  upon  the  prince's  camp,  in  which  some 
hundreds  of  men  were  slain,  and  he  himself 
was  only  saved  from  capture  by  the  watchful- 
ness of  a  little  spaniel  in  his  tent. 

At  last  his   hireling   soldiers   absolutely  re- 


SUNSHINE    AND   STORM.  297 

fused  to  remain  another  day  where  they  were, 
and  Orange  was  forced  to  retreat,  not  without 
danger  to  his  person  from  his  mutinous  troops, 
whom  he  could  only  pay  in  the  pledges  given 
by  various  cities  of  Holland.  Count  Louis  lay 
sick  of  a  raging  fever,  within  the  walls,  and 
Mods  finally  surrendered.  The  officers  and 
troops  were  suffered  to  depart,  and  safety  of 
life  and  property  was  promised  to  the  citizens. 
But  the  cruel  Noircarmes,  the  "  butcher  of  Val- 
enciennes," now  undertook  to  settle  matters  in 
Mons,  and,  true  to  his  nature,  he  set  up  a  court 
after  the  pattern  of  the  Blood  Council,  under 
whose  decrees  as  many  as  ten  or  twenty  per- 
sons, oftentimes,  were  hanged,  beheaded,  or 
burned  in  a  single  day.  For  nearly  a  whole 
year  this  bloody  work  went  on.  The  proceeds 
of  the  heavy  confiscations  generally  found  their 
way  to  the  pocket  of  Noircarmes  himself. 

The  beautiful  city  of  Mechlin  had  not  long 
before  accepted  a  garrison  from  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  and  as  a  punishment,  Alva  now  gave 
it  up  to  be  sacked  by  his  troops.  They  had 
been  clamoring  for   pay,  of  late,   but  plunder 


298  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

would  serve  equally  well.  The  sack  continued 
for  three  entire  days.  The  brutal  soldiery 
spared  neither  friend  nor  foe.  Both  Papists 
and  Protestants  were  plundered  and  massacred 
with  undiscriminating  fury.  The  very  churches 
and  convents  fared  no  better  than  at  Antwerp 
in  the  days  of  image-breaking.  Even  the  im- 
age of  the  virgin  herself  was  stripped,  the  splen- 
did robes  of  the  priests,  the  sacramental  cups, 
and  whatever  should  have  been  sacred  in  their 
eyes,  were  profaned  and  rifled  by  these  Roman 
Catholic  soldiers.  Consecrated  gold  and  jewels 
were  as  good  as  any  other  to  fill  their  pockets. 
No  outrage  was  too  atrocious  for  them  to  com- 
mit. It  was  an  ultra-Catholic,  named  Jean 
Richardot,  who  related  many  of  the  horrible 
details  to  the  state  council.  "  I  could  say 
more,"  he  remarked  in  concluding,  "  but  my 
hair  stands  on  end  at  the  bare  recollection  of 
what  I  then  beheld." 

Don  Frederic  now  proceeded  to  reduce  those 
cities  of  the  eastern  and  northern  provinces 
which  had  lately  embraced  the  patriot  cause. 
Most  of  them  yielded  without  a  struggle.     Zut- 


SUNSHINE  AND   STORM.  299 

plien  attempted  to  resist,  and  was  accordingly 
visited  with  a  doom  like  that  of  Mechlin. 
"  Burn  every  house  to  the  ground,  and  leave 
not  a  single  man  alive !  "  ordered  the  angry 
duke,  and  Don  Frederic  executed  the  command 
almost  to  the  letter.  To  butcher  so  many  peo- 
ple was  found  somewhat  laborious,  and  so  cer- 
tain wholesale  modes  of  execution  were  con- 
trived. Sometimes  the  victims  were  stripped 
of  all  clothiug  and  turned  out  into  the  open 
fields  to  freeze  to  death.  A  great  number 
could  thus  be  despatched  very  conveniently  in  a 
single  winter's  night.  One  time  they  tied  five 
hundred  burghers  in  pairs,  back  to  back,  and 
threw  them  into  the  river  like  so  many  dogs. 
A  few  persons  who  had  by  some  means  escaped 
were  recaptured.  These  were  hung  upon  the 
gallows  by  the  feet,  to  perish  in  agonies  more 
lingering  than  even  those  of  crucifixion.  For 
days  none  dared  approach  the  desolated  city  to 
learn  its  fate.  "  A  wail  of  agony  was  heard 
above  Zutphen  last  Sunday,"  wrote  Count 
Nieuwenar  to  Count   Louis,   "  a  sound   as  of 


300  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

a  mighty  massacre,  but  we  know  not  what  has 
taken  place." 

On  the  coast  of  the  Zuyder  Zee  there  was 
a  little  city  called  Naarden,  which  held  for 
the  prince.  Its  garrison  and  fortifications  were 
very  weak,  but  there  were  stout  hearts  within 
those  feeble  walls,  and  they  boldly  refused 
Don  Frederic's  summons  to  surrender.  But 
afterwards,  finding  it  impossible  to  get  any  aid 
from  Sonoy,  they  were  forced  to  think  of  sub- 
mission. Julian  Romero,  a  distinguished  Span- 
ish officer,  was  sent  thither  with  five  or  six 
hundred  men,  and  on  receiving  the  keys  of  the 
city,  solemnly  pledged  his  word  that  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  citizens  should  be  respected. 
The  soldiers  were  hospitably  received  to  the 
private  dwellings,  and  every  matron  prepared  a 
sumptuous  repast  for  her  military  guests.  But 
no  sooner  had  they  risen  from  the  bountiful  ta- 
bles of  the  Naarden  burghers  than  they  ad- 
dressed themselves  to  the  work  of  butchering 
their  hosts  in  cold  blood.  Five  hundred  of  the 
chief  citizens  had  been  assembled  in  a  public 
hall  as  if  to  receive  some  communication  from 


SUNSHINE   AND   STORM.  301 

Romero.  These  were  all  massacred  on  the 
spot.  Then  the  building  was  set  on  fire,  and 
the  dead  and  dying  were  consumed  together  in 
the  flames.  Sometimes,  by  way  of  variety,  the 
soldiers  chopped  their  victims  in  pieces  with 
axes,  or  tossed  them  upon  their  lances,  or 
opened  their  veins  and  drank  their  blood. 
One  eminent  person  saw  his  only  son  killed  and 
the  heart  literally  torn  from  his  bosom,  after 
which,  with  a  cruel  forbearance,  the  murderers 
spared  the  wretched  father's  life.  When  every 
conceivable  cruelty  and  outrage  had  been  per- 
petrated, Don  Frederic  crowned  all  by  forbid- 
ding that  the  dead  should  have  so  much  as  a 
grave.  Three  weeks  the  heaps  of  mangled 
corpses  lay  festering  in  the  streets,  until  at 
length  there  came  orders  to  destroy  the  last 
vestige  of  the  ruined  city  from  off  the  face  of 
the  earth.  Alva  was  proud  and  happy  to  re- 
port to  the  king  that  Don  Frederic's  troops 
"  had  cut  the  throats  of  the  burghers  and  all 
the  garrison,  and  that  they  had  not  left  a 
mother's  son  alive." 

After  the  Prince  of  Orange  had  been  forced 


302  WILLIAM   THE    SILENT. 

to  abandon  the  hope  of  relieving  Mons,  he  had 
betaken  himself,  with  the  seventy  horsemen 
who  alone  remained,  to  the  province  of  Hol- 
land. Its  people  were  true  to  him  and  to  lib- 
erty still.  In  this  hour  of  darkness  and  defeat 
he  had  returned  to  them,  "  resolved  there  to 
make  his  grave."*  A  consultation  had  been 
held  with  the  estates,  convened  by  his  request 
at  Harlem,  —  the  heroic  city  whose  day  of  an- 
guish and  of  glory  was  now  so  nigh,  —  after 
which,  establishing  himself  in  the  southern 
part  of  Holland,  while  Sonoy  remained  in  the 
northern,  he  awaited  what  well  might  prove 
the  final  struggle  of  liberty  with  her  mortal  foe. 

*  "  Ayant  delibere  lefaire  illecq  ma  sepultre."  —  Quoted  by  Motley 
from  a  letter  to  Count  John. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


FALL    OF   HARLEM. 


m 


(JJf  HE  victorious  Spaniards  whose  weapons 
were  still  reeking  from  the  recent  massa- 
cres were  now  about  to  invest  Harlem. 
Count  Bossu  had  taken  the  trouble  to  as- 
sure the  obstinate  Hollanders,  in  Alva's  name, 
that  those  butcheries  were  perpetrated  deliber- 
ately and  on  principle.  A  like  doom  awaited 
all  the  rebellious.  But  the  menace  overshot 
the  mark.  From  the  fate  of  Naarden  it  was 
plain  that  to  submit  was  only  to  be  led  like 
sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and  it  could  be  no  worse 
to  resist.  Being  doomed  in  either  case,  they 
chose  to  die  fighting.  The  hour  was  now  at 
hand,  and  they  gathered  strength  to  face  it, 
even  from  their  very  despair. 

To   capture   Harlem    would    be   to   cut   the 
province  in  twain,  and  thus  render  it  impossible 

303 


304  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

for  the  rebels  on  either  side  to  aid  those  on  the 
other.  It  lay  on  the  isthmus  between  the 
Zuyder  Zee  and  the  German  Ocean,  at  a  point 
where  it  is  scarcely  five  English  miles  in  breadth 
from  shore  to  shore.  Immediately  west  of  the 
city  there  was  a  strip  of  rich  meadow  land,  pro- 
tected from  the  North  Sea  by  dikes.  On  the 
east  and  south  lay  the  Harlem  Lake ;  while  on 
the  north,  separated  from  it  only  by  a  narrow 
thread  of  land,  extended  the  waters  of  the  Y,* 
an  inlet  of  the  Zuyder  Zee.  A  causeway  or 
dike,  running  eastward  along  this  slender  isth- 
mus between  Harlem  Lake  and  the  Y  Zee,  con- 
nected the  city  with  Amsterdam,  ten  miles  dis- 
tant. Half-way  between  the  two  were  sluice- 
gates in  the  dike,  by  means  of  which  the  wa- 
ters of  the  lake  could  be  let  into"  the  estuary, 
and  the  country  be  submerged. 

The  base  of  the  present  military  operations 
was  to  be  Amsterdam,  which  Alva  still  held. 
Harlem  was  invested  by  Don  Frederic,  with 

*  This  body  of  water,  which  was  about  fifteen  feet  in  depth,  and 
contained  some  seventy  square  miles,  has  in  later  times  been  drained, 
and  converted  into  excellent  pasture  land. 


FALL    OF   HARLEM.  305 

thirty  thousand  men,  early  in  December,  1572. 
Though  it  was  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  the 
Netherlands  in  size  and  beauty,  it  was  but 
poorly  fortified.  The  walls  were  far  from  being 
strong,  and  their  great  extent  only  made  it  the 
more  difficult  to  defend  them  with  a  small  force. 
The  garrison  was  considerably  reinforced  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  siege,  under  cover  of 
a  dense  frozen  fog  which  overhung  the  lake ; 
but  it  never  exceeded  three  thousand  fighting 
men  and  one  thousand  pioneers.  There  was 
a  little  corps  of  fighting  women,  which,  though 
numbering  only  three  hundred,  did  a  good  deal 
of  service  during  the  long  siege,  both  within 
and  without  the  walls.  These  Amazons  were 
all  women  of  unblemished  character,  and  their 
leader  was  a  widow  lady  of  distinguished  fam- 
ily, named  Kenan  Hasselaer.  They  fought 
with  swords,  muskets,  and  daggers,  and  their 
desperate  valor  must  have  stimulated  their 
brothers  and  husbands  to  the  utmost. 

Within  a  very  few  days  after  the  city  was 
invested,    the   prince   gathered   three    or   four 

thousand  men   at  Leyden,  fifteen  miles  to  the 
20 


306  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

south,  and  sent  them  toward  Harlem,  under 
the  command  of  our  old  friend  de  la  Marck. 
On  the  way,  and  during  a  violent  snow-storm, 
they  were  attacked  by  a  strong  Spanish  force. 
They  fought  bravely,  but  were  routed  at  last, 
one  thousand  of  their  number  having  been 
slain,  and  many  made  prisoners.  The  latter 
were  carried  off  and  hung  upon  gibbets  erected 
for  the  purpose  in  full  view  of  Harlem.  One 
of  the  prisoners  was  a  gallant  officer  named 
Baptist  van  Trier,  for  whose  ransom  de  la 
Marck  offered  nineteen  Spanish  captives  and 
two  thousand  crowns.  Upon  this  intimation 
of  the  value  of  their  prisoner  to  the  rebels,  the 
Spaniards  proceeded  to  hang  Van  Trier  upon 
the  gallows  by  one  leg  until  he  was  dead.  '  De 
la  Marck  retaliated  by  gibbeting  his  nineteen 
Spaniards  forthwith.  This  was  a  fitting  pre- 
lude to  the  unspeakable  horrors  of  the  siege 
thus  opened. 

Meanwhile  the  friends  of  Harlem  had  done 
their  best  to  aid  it,  by  introducing  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  other  supplies,  under  cover 
of    the   wintry    fog.      These    were    generally 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  307 

brought  on  sledges  across  the  frozen  lake,  the 
command  of  which  Harlem  yet  held.  Near 
Amsterdam,  there  was  considerable  fighting 
upon  skates,  around  some  vessels  temporarily 
frozen  in.  The  Hollanders  were  very  adroit  in 
skating,  which  was  altogether  new  to  their  ene- 
mies. However,  Alva  ordered  seven  thousand 
pairs  of  these  novel  appendages,  and  his  men 
soon  learned  to  use  them. 

Don  Frederic  had  no  idea  that  Harlem  could 
hold  out  more  than  a  week.  Having  placed  his 
batteries,  on  the  18th  of  December  he  com- 
menced a  furious  cannonade  against  the  gate 
of  the  Cross,  the  gate  of  Saint  John,  and  that 
portion  of  the  wall  connecting  the  two.  About 
seven  hundred  shots  were  daily  discharged.  In 
the  course  of  three  days,  the  ancient  and  fee- 
ble walls  were  not  a  little  shattered  ;  but  men, 
women,  and  children  were  working  night  and 
day  to  repair  the  gaps  as  fast  as  they  were  made. 
Masses  of  stone,  bags  of  sand,  heaps  of  earth, 
were  thrown  into  every  breach,  and,  much  to 
the   horror  of  the   besiegers,  even  statues  of 


308  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

saints  stripped  from  the  churches.     At  length 
Don  Frederic  ordered  a  general  assault. 

Julian  Romero  headed  a  large  storming-par- 
ty,  who  advanced  gallantly  to  the  battered  walls, 
expecting  nothing  else  than  to  carry  them  at 
once.  But  Harlem  was  not  to  be  so  easily  won. 
Before  its  frail  battlements  many  thousands  of 
Spaniards  were  yet  to  find  a  grave.  At  the  sig- 
nal for  the  assault,  the  church-bells  instantly 
pealed  a  loud  alarm,  and  all  Harlem  rushed  to 
the  walls.  The  Spaniards  were  encountered 
with  missiles  they  had  never  dreamed  of  before. 
The  burghers,  in  their  desperation,  had  mus- 
tered weapons  far  more  formidable  than  swords 
and  fire-arms.  As  the  storming-party  strove  to 
scale  the  ramparts,  now  manned  by  the  entire 
population,  great  stones,  live  coals,  and  boiling 
oil  were  hurled  down  upon  them.  Hoops 
smeared  with  pitch  and  then  set  on  fire  were 
skillfully  tossed,  all  blazing,  upon  their  necks. 
Scorched  and  blinded  by  these  flaming  circlets, 
incessantly  pelted  with  every  possible  missile 
that  could  wound  or  crush  or  burn,  the  assault- 
ing party  was  finally  forced  to  give  way.     Ro- 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  309 

mero  himself  had  lost  an  eye,  and  three  or 
four  hundred  of  his  men  lay  dead  in  the  breach, 
while  scarcely  half  a  dozen  citizens  had  fallen. 
Don  Frederic  now  perceived  that  the  work  be- 
fore him  was  not  simply  a  massacre.  The  city 
must  first  be  captured.  The  gate  of  the  Cross 
was  fortified  by  a  ravelin,  and  this  he  now  pro- 
ceeded to  undermine. 

A  second  effort  was  made  to  throw  into  the 
city  reinforcements  and  supplies  ;  but  the  little 
army  lost  its  way  in  the  dense  fog,  and  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  Spaniards.  Among  the  prisoners 
was  De  Koning,  the  second  in  command.  The 
victors  barbarously  cut  off  his  head  and  threw 
it  to  the  besieged  with  this  label*  attached : 
"  This  is  the  head  of  Captain  De  Koning,  who 
is  on  his  way  with  reinforcements  for  the  good 
city  of  Harlem."  The  citizens  were  provoked 
to  a  retort  more  barbarous  still ;  for  they,  too, 
had  taken  prisoners  in  the  frequent  skirmishes 
outside  the  walls.  A  barrel  was  shortly  thrown 
over  into  the  enemy's  camp,  containing  the 
heads  of  eleven  Spaniards.  It  was  labeled  as 
follows  :  — 


310  WILLIAM,  THE   SILENT. 

"  Deliver  these  ten  heads  to  Duke  Alva,  in 
payment  of  his  tenth-penny  tax,  with  one  addi- 
tional head  for  interest." 

The  prince  was  constantly  doing  his  utmost 
in  hehalf  of  the  beleaguered  city.  From  time 
to  time  the  citizens  received  cheering  messages, 
written  on  very  small  bits  of  paper,  and  brought 
by  carrier-pigeons.  On  the  28th  of  January, 
1573,  a  considerable  supply  of  powder,  and  also 
of  bread,  was  sent  upon  sledges  across  the  lake, 
escorted  by  four  hundred  veteran  soldiers. 
Meanwhile  Don  Frederic  was  busy  in  under- 
mining the  ravelin,  while  the  citizens,  aware 
of  his  subterranean  approaches,  were  counter- 
mining in  their  turn.  Many  a  deadly  conflict 
occurred  in  those  dim,  underground  passages, 
Spaniard  and  Netherlander  grappling  each 
other  where  there  was  scarcely  room  to  wield  a 
dagger.  Sometimes,  burrowing  underneath  the 
subterranean  works  of  their  foes,  the  citizens 
prepared  secret  magazines,  whose  sudden  ex- 
plosion destroyed  hundreds  at  once. 

Still  the  besiegers  were  making  progress,  and 
it  became  plain  that  in  time  the  ravelin  must 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  311 

fall.  The  citizens  had  been  building,  by  night, 
a  half-moon  of  solid  masonry  just  inside  the 
gate  that  was  threatened.  Dark  and  cold  as 
were  those  long  winter  nights,  even  feeble  wo- 
men and  young  children  used  to  share  the  toil 
of  constructing  this  new  defense.  It  was  fin- 
ished just  in  time. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  Don  Frederic  or- 
dered a  midnight  assault.  The  cannonading 
had  lately  been  resumed  ;  the  walls  were  some- 
what shattered ;  and  the  gate  of  Saint  John 
was  partially  destroyed.  Don  Frederic  was  con- 
fident of  carrying  the  city,  and  expecting  there 
would  be  a  great  panic  among  the  people,  he 
ordered  the  entire  army  under  arms  to  seize 
the  fugitives.  But  the  fierce  and  unexpected 
onset  was  unflinchingly  sustained  by  the  forty 
or  fifty  sentinels  upon  the  walls,  until  the  citi- 
zens were  roused  by  the  alarm-bells.  There 
was  the  same  desperate  warfare  as  before. 
Fire-brands,  melted  pitch,  clubs,  and  stones 
were  poured  in  deadly  profusion  upon  the  as- 
sailants. The  late  dawn  of  the  winter  morning 
found  the  struggle  still  going  on. 


312  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Then  the  Spanish  trumpets  sounded  a  gen- 
eral assault.  There  was  a  tremendous  rush, 
and  the  ravelin  was  carried  at  last.  At 
that  moment  the  besiegers  first  discovered  a 
new  fortification  within,  all  bristling  with  can- 
non, which  opened  a  deadly  fire.  In  the  same 
breath,  the  very  ravelin  for  which  they  had 
struggled  so  long  blew  up  with  a  tremendous 
explosion,  filling  the  air  with  fragments  of 
human  bodies.  There  was  no  possibility  of 
making  head  against  resistance  like  this.  The 
trumpets  sounded  a  retreat,  and  the  enemy  with- 
drew. 

It  was  now  resolved  to  reduce  the  city  by 
famine.  Already  its  provisions  were  beginning 
to  fail,  so  that  every  inhabitant  was  put  upon 
a  strict  daily  allowance  of  food.  It  was  not 
likely  that  further  supplies  could  be  introduced, 
and,  however  stout-hearted,  the  citizens  must 
yield  to  famine  at  last. 

But  the  long  sharp  winter  had  made  havoc 
among  the  Spaniards  too.  Severe  hardships  and 
scanty  rations  produced  much  sickness  in  camp, 
and  the  soldiers  perished  by  thousands.     Don 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  313 

Frederic  was  even  disposed  to  abandon  the 
siege,  and  sent  to  ask  his  father's  permission  to 
withdraw,  since  Harlem  was  likely  to  cost  more 
than  it  would  be  worth.  The  duke  returned  a 
sufficiently  explicit  reply.  "  Tell  Don  Frede- 
ric," said  he,  "  that  if  he  gives  up  that  siege  he 
is  no  son  of  mine.  Should  he  fall,  I  will  take 
his  place  myself,  and  when  I  too  have  perished, 
the  duchess,  my  wife,  shall  come  from  Spain 
to  carry  it  through." 

So  Don  Frederic  dutifully  resumed  the  task. 
The  Harlem  burghers  fought  as  if  they  posi- 
tively enjoyed  it.  They  even  courted  death 
with  a  desperate  ardor,  for  to  fall  in  battle 
seemed  far  less  dreadful  than  to  see  nothing  but 
starvation  before  them,  to  close  the  long  vista 
of  horrors.  One  day  a  party  sallied  forth  un- 
der cover  of  a  dense  fog,  and  undertook  to 
spike  the  guns  of  the  chief  battery  before  the 
very  eyes  of  their  foes.  Every  man  of  them 
soon  lay  dead  on  the  spot,  with  hammer  and 
spike  still  grasped  in  his  stiffened  hands.  Don 
Frederic  himself  asserted  that  the  best-  troops 


314  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

in  the  world  could  do  no  more  than  did  the 
plain  burghers  of  Harlem. 

In  the  spring,  when  the  ice  broke  up,  it  was 
a  great  question  who  should  hold  Harlem  Lake. 
So  long  as  the  prince  could  retain  possession  of 
it,  there  would  be  a  possibility  of  supplies  some- 
times reaching  the  city,  which  otherwise  must 
speedily  fall.  Or  could  the  patriots  by  some 
means  cut  asunder  the  dike  eastward  of  Am- 
sterdam, over  which  came  all  its  supplies,  the 
duke's  city  might  be  starved  in  its  turn.  Alva 
was  excessively  uneasy  lest  this  should  be  ac- 
complished. "  Since  I  came  into  the  world," 
wrote  he,  "I  have  never  been  in  such  anxiety. 
If  they  should  succeed  in  cutting  off  the  com- 
munication along  the  dikes,  we  should  have  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Harlem,  to  surrender,  hands 
crossed,  or  to  starve." 

It  was  not  the  fault  of  Orange  that  this  was 
not  effected.  He  sent  Sonoy,  with  such  volun- 
teers as  he  could  raise,  to  attack  the  Diemerdyk. 
The  weak  force  was  overpowered  by  superior 
numbers,  in  the  temporary  absence  of  its  com- 
mander; but  not  until  a  brave  fellow,' called 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  315 

John  Haring,  of  Horn,  had  done  a  deed  that 
deserves  to  be  long  remembered.  There  are  a 
number  of  small  lakes  scattered  through  this 
low,  swampy  country,  and  one  of  them,  called 
the  Diemer  Lake,  approached  so  close  to  the  Y 
that  the  dike  alone  separated  the  two  bodies  of 
water.  At  a  certain  point,  where  there  was 
scarcely  room  for  two  persons  to  pass  each  other* 
on  the  top  of  the  dike,  stout-hearted  John 
Haring  took  his  stand.  With  his  single  sword 
and  shield  he  kept  at  bay  a  thousand  Spaniards 
long  enough  for  his  own  men  to  have  rallied  to 
his  support,  had  not  the  day  been  already  lost. 
As  it  was,  after  maintaining  his  ground  upon 
the  narrow  and  slippery  causeway  until  the  « 
last  of  his  fellow-soldiers  had  escaped,  he 
plunged  into  the  sea,  and  swam  off  unharmed. 
Horatius  Codes  himself  could  not  have  done 
better  than  did  this  gallant  Dutchman. 

One  day  toward  the  end  of  March,  the  cit- 
izens sallied  forth,  one  thousand  strong,  drove 
in  the  enemy's  pickets,  burned  three  hundred 
tents,  seized  seven  cannon,  nine  standards,  and 
many  wagon-loads  of  provisions.    Having  killed 


316  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

eight  hundred  of  the  enemy  with  almost 
no  loss  on  their  own  side,  after  their  return  they 
indulged  in  a  practical  taunt  aimed  at  their  dis- 
comfited foe.  Upon  the  ramparts,  in  full  view 
of  the  enemy,  they  constructed  a  huge  mound 
of  earth  in  the  form  of  a  grave,  and  planted  on 
its  top  the  trophies  of  their  foray,  together  with 
a  hanner  inscribed,  "  Harlem  is  the  graveyard 
of  the  Spaniards." 

So  they  themselves  felt  it  to  be.  Thousands 
had  already  perished  before  its  walls.  "  It  is 
a  war  such  as  never  before  was  seen  or  heard 
of  in  any  land  on  earth,"  wrote  Alva  to  the 
king.  "  Never  was  a  place  defended  with  such 
skill  and  bravery  as  Harlem."  Don  Frederic 
had  of  late  been  largely  reinforced.  His  fleet, 
and  that  of  the  prince,  made  Harlem  Lake  alive 
with  ships.  There  was  continual  skirmishing 
on  the  water,  until,  on  the  28th  of  May,  a  de- 
cisive engagement  took  place,  which  made  the 
Spaniards  masters  of  the  whole  lake. 

And  now  at  length  brave  Harlem  began  to 
despair.  Relief  seemed  impossible.  Famine 
was  at  the  very  door.     For  a  long  time  they  had 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  317 

lived  on  short  allowance,  —  only  one  pound  of 
bread  daily  for  each  man,  and  half  a  pound  for 
each  woman.  But  now  there  was  no  bread  at 
all,  no  wholesome  human  food  of  any  kind. 
They  ate  linseed  and  rapeseed  at  first ;  then 
cats,  dogs,  rats,  and  mice,  so  long  as  there  were 
any  of  these  unclean  animals  to  be  found.  Af- 
ter that,  they  used  to  boil  horse-hides  and  ox- 
hides ;.  they  devoured  shoe-leather;  they  were 
fain  to  fill  themselves  with  weeds  and  nettles 
from  the  graveyards.  Day  by  day,  people  who 
looked  like  living  skeletons  while  feebly  mov- 
ing about  the  streets  would  quietly  sink  down 
on  the  pavements  and  die,  and  nobody  was 
shocked  or  surprised.  The  wonder  was  that 
any  of  them  were  still  alive. 

In  this  lingering  agony  the  month  of  June 
wore  away.  Orange  was  still  doing  his  utmost 
to  bring  relief,  but  he  could  not  accomplish  the 
impossible.  On  the  first  day  of  July  the 
burghers  sent  deputies  to  confer  with  Don  Fred- 
eric ;  but  he  would  not  hear  of  any  compromise. 
Two  days  afterwards  he  cannonaded  the  town 
with  tremendous  energy,  throwing  in  more  than 


318  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

one  thousand  balls.  The  wretched  inhabitants 
wrote  a  letter  in  blood  to  their  faithful  prince, 
to  tell  him  that  they  were  at  the  last  gasp,  and 
raised  a  black  flag  on  the  tower  of  the  cathe- 
dral in  token  of  utter  despair.  Yet  a  carrier- 
dove  brought  them  a  letter  from  Orange,  beg- 
ging them  to  hold  out  but  two  days  longer. 
Four  or  five  thousand  burghers  of  Delft  had 
volunteered  to  march  to  their  relief,  with  four 
hundred  wagon-loads  of  provisions.  Unhappily, 
the  carrier-doves  bearing  letters  explaining  the 
plan  more  fully  were  shot  on  the  way  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  so  Don  Frederic  was  on  the 
alert  to  intercept  the  promised  relief.  The  ex- 
pedition was  totally  defeated,  with  a  heavy  loss 
of  life. 

There  was  no  more  to  be  done.  The  heroic 
city  must  fall.  The  Harlem  people  had  been 
looking  death  in  the  face  for  many  months,  yet 
a  shuddering  horror  seized  every  heart  when 
it  was  known  that  even  Orange  had  given  up 
all  hope  Of  saving  them.  And  now  the  awful 
moment  was  close  at  hand  when  those  misera- 
ble thousands  must  perish  before  each  other's 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  319 

eyes.  They  knew  only  too  well  what  had  been 
done  at  Mechlin,  Zutphen,  and  Naarden.  Fa- 
thers and  mothers  looked  upon  their  helpless 
children,  and  thought  what  it  would  be  to  see 
the  baby  tossed  to  and  fro  upon  Spanish  pikes, 
or  the  heart  torn  from  their  boy's  living  breast 
before  their  very  eyes.  Wives  and  husbands, 
sisters  and  brothers,  clung  to  each  other  with 
despairing  grasp.  Who  could  tell  what  ex- 
tremity of  torture  and  outrage  each  had  yet  to 
endure  ? 

At  first  the  men  resolved  to  sally  forth  in  a 
compact  body,  and  die  fighting.  Perhaps  some 
pity  might  be  shown  to  the  women  and  children, 
the  sick  and  the  aged  ones,  who  would  be  left 
behind.  But  this  plan  was  given  up,  for  the 
mention  of  it  caused  such  cries  and  entreaties 
from  the  helpless  that  it  was  impossible  to 
abandon  them.  Then  they  determined  to  go 
all  together  to  meet  their  death,  the  feeble 
being  surrounded  by  the  strong. 

The  besiegers  found  out  these  desperate 
schemes,  and  set  themselves  to  prevent  their 
execution.    They  had  no  mind  to  miss  the  long- 


320  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

anticipated  massacre.  Unless  the  citizens  were 
somehow  cajoled  into  a  speedy  surrender,  they 
might  even  burn  up  their  city  and  themselves 
together.  Accordingly  Don  Frederic  caused  a 
letter  to  be  sent  to  the  magistrates  in  the  name 
of  Count  Overstein,  commander  of  his  German 
forces,  solemnly  promising  forgiveness  upon 
submission.  So  the  wretched  city  surrendered 
at  discretion  on  the  12th  of  July,  1573. 

Don  Frederic  then  proceeded  to  dispense  the 
promised  mercy,  as  follows.  First,  all  the  offi- 
cers of  the  garrison  were  taken  to  head-quar- 
ters, and  on  the  same  day  they  were  beheaded. 
The  massacre  proper  began  the  next  morning. 
Only  about  eighteen  hundred  of  the  garrison 
survived,  and  these,  except  six  hundred  Ger- 
mans, were  at  once  butchered.  Five  execution- 
ers, with  their  assistants',  were  kept  hard  at 
work  for  several  days  to  dispatch  the  principal 
burghers.  When  they  were  worn  out  with  their 
protracted  labors,  the  last  three  hundred  of  the 
victims  were  tied  in  pairs,  back  to  back,  and 
drowned  in  Harlem  Lake. 


FALL    OF  HARLEM.  321 

Twenty-three  hundred  persons  were  executed, 
according  to  Alva's  own  figures,  and  he  thought 
himself  astonishingly  gracious  in  stopping 
there.  Since  the  reduction  of  Harlem,  weak  as 
were  its  defenses,  had  cost  seven  months'  time 
and  twelve  thousand  Spanish  lives,  it  was  rather 
alarming  to  calculate  what  it  would  take  to  sub- 
due the  rest  of  the  province. 

There  was  great  exultation  in  Spain  over  the 
fall  of  Harlem.  Yet  the  Prince  of  Orange  re- 
mained, as  he  was  wont,  "  calm  amid  raging 
waves."  "I  had  hoped  to  send  you  better 
news,"  he  wrote  to  Count  Louis ;  "  neverthe- 
less, since  it  has  otherwise  pleased  the  good 
God,  we  must  conform  ourselves  to  his  divine 
will.  I  take  the  same  God  to  witness  that  I 
have  done  everything,  according  to  my  means, 
which  was  possible,  to  succor  the  city."  A 
short  time  afterwards,  he  announced  the  re- 
cent capture  of  the  castle  of  Rammckeus,  by 
the  Zoalanders.  "  I  hope,"  added  he,  cheer- 
fully, "  that  this  will  reduce  the  pride  of  our 

enemies,  who,  since  the  surrender  of  Harlem, 
21 


322  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

have  thought  that  they  were  about  to  swallow 
us  alive.  I  assure  myself,  however,  that  they 
will  find  a  very  different  piece  of  work  from  the 
one  which  they  expect." 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

ALKMAAR    SAVED. 

HE  prediction  of  William  was  happily  ver- 
ified in  the  very  next  siege. 
Alkinaar  was  a  little  city  in  the  northern 
part  of  North  Holland,  and  not  far  from 
the  ancient  castle  and  ahbey  of  Egmont. 
About  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Harlem,  it  was 
summoned  to  surrender,  but  boldly  refused. 
Accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  Spaniards  had  fin- 
ished the  massacre  then  on  hand,  and  had  re- 
covered from  the  mutinous  fit  in  which  they 
usually  indulged  themselves  after  a  victory, 
they  proceeded  to  invest  Alkmaar. 

Before  the  close  of  August,  the  city  was  so 
closely  beleaguered  that,  as  Alva  expressed  it, 
not  so  much  as  a  sparrow  could  make  its  way 
through  the  lines.  Outside  the  walls  lay  an 
army    of    sixteen    thousand    veteran    soldiers. 


324  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Within,  there  was  a  garrison  of  eight  hundred, 
together  with  about  thirteen  hundred  burghers 
capable  of  bearing  arms.  Thus  4he  odds 
against  Alkmaar  were  practically  more  than 
eight  to  one. 

The  duke  felt  that  his  mercy  had  been 
thrown  away  upon  Harlem.  He  could  not  for- 
give himself  for  having  lavished  so  much  good- 
ness on  that  ungrateful  city.  Considering  that 
he  had  put  to  death  only  twenty-three  hundred 
persons  at  the  time  of  the  surrender,  and  a  few 
burghers  afterward,  he  thought  Harlem  ought 
to  have  given  him  its  whole  heart.  "  If  I  take 
Alkmaar,"  he  wrathfully  declared,  "lam  re- 
solved not  to  leave  a  single  creature  alive  ;  the 
knife  shall  be  put  to  every  throat.  Since  the 
example  of  Harlem  has  proved  of  no  use,  per- 
haps an  example  of  cruelty  will  bring  the  other 
cities  to  their  senses." 

So  Alkmaar  knew  what  to  expect.  Its 
friends  outside  were  intensely  anxious.  Sonoy 
was  lieutenant-governor  in  North  Holland  ;  but 
he,  no  less  than  everybody  else,  looked  to  the 
prince.     The  fate  of  Harlem  had  greatly  de- 


ALKMAAR   SAVED.  325 

pressed  the  patriots,  and  they  wondered  how 
Orange  could  continue  so  calm  and  hopeful. 
"  If  your  princely  grace  have  made  a  contract 
for  assistance  with  any  powerful  potentate," 
wrote  Sonoy  shortly  before  Alkinaar  was  in- 
Tested,  "  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  it 
should  be  known  to  all  the  cities,  in  order  to 
put  an  end  to  the  emigration,  and  console  the 
people  in  their  affliction. " 

The  prince  replied  from  Dort,  under  date  of 
August  9th,  1573.  "  You  ask,"  wrote  he,  with 
a  serenity  truly  sublime,  "  if  I  have  entered 
into  a  firm  treaty  with  any  great  king  or  poten- 
tate, to  which  I  answer,  that  before  I  ever  took 
up  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  Christians  in, 
tUese  provinces,  I  had  entered  into  a  close  alli- 
ance with  the  King  of  kings ;  and  I  am  firmly 
convinced  that  all  who  put  their  trust  in  him 
shall  be  saved  by  his  almighty  hand.  The  God 
of  armies  will  raise  up  armies  for  us,  to  do  bat- 
tle with  our  enemies  and  his  own."  Then  he 
stated  his  plans  for  resisting  the  enemy,  and 
encouraged  his  lieutenant  and  people  to  hold 
out  bravely,  come  what  might. 


326  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

There  was  only  one  way  by  which  the  citizens 
of  Alkmaar  could  hope  to  make  their  enemies 
raise  the  siege.  If  they  could  open  the  great 
sluice-gates  of  the  Zyp,  and  break  down  a  few 
dikes,  the  surrounding  country  would  soon  be 
laid  under  water,  and  the  invaders  forced  to 
withdraw.  At  this  season  of  the  year,  while 
the  crops  were  yet  unharvested,  an  inundation 
would  of  course  occasion  an  immense  amount 
of  damage.  Yet,  hoping  that  in  so  critical  a 
moment  the  people  would  consent  to  the  meas- 
ure, letters  were  written  to  the  prince  on  the 
subject,  as  well  as  to  other  leading  persons.  It 
was  a  matter  of  life  and  death,  however,  for 
any  one  to  attempt  passing  the  enemy's  lines, 
and  the  citizens  either  had  no  carrier-doves,  tor 
feared  to  trust  their  missions  to  these  uncon- 
scious messengers.  At  last  a  brave  carpenter 
named  Peter  van  der  Mey  offered  to  go,  and 
hiding  the  letters  in  a  hollow  walking-stick,  he 
set  out  on  his  perilous  errand. 

Don  Frederic  was  diligently  cannonading  the 
city,  and  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
September  18th,  he  ordered  assaults  to  be  made 


ALKMAAR   SAVED.  327 

simultaneously  at  two  opposite  points.  The 
storming  parties  charged  with  tremendous 
shouts,  sure  of  carrying  the  city  at  once.  The 
choice  regiments  leading  them  had  lately  come 
from  Lombardy,  and  were  not  acquainted  with 
the  Dutch  mode  of  repelling  assaults,  else 
they  would  have  been  less  confident. 

Alkmaar  mustered  every  living  man  upon 
her  walls.  As  at  Harlem,  they  encountered  the 
assailants  with  all  sorts  of  missiles  that  came 
to  hand.  They  poured  down  boiling  water, 
unslacked  lime,  melted  lead,  blazing  pitch  and 
oil,  in  addition  to  bullets  and  cannon-balls. 
Tarred  and  flaming  hoops  were  dexterously 
tossed  around  the  necks  of  the  soldiers  as  they 
struggled  to  scale  the  wall.  No  sooner  did  a 
Spaniard  set  foot  upon  the  ramparts  than  he 
was  thrust  through  by  some  bold  burgher,  and 
hurled  headlong  into  the  moat.  The  women 
and  children  continually  moved  amid  the  fly- 
ing balls,  supplying  the  men  with  ammunition, 
and  whatever  else  could  aid  in  the  desperate 
strife.  Three  times  the  charge  was  renewed, 
each  successive  onset  being  more  furious  than. 


328  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  last,  and  as  often  was  it  repulsed  by  the 
plain  citizens  of  Alkroaar.  After  four  hours' 
lighting,  darkness  forced  the  Spaniards  to  re- 
treat. They  left  at  least  one  thousand  men 
dead  before  the  walls,  while  only  thirteen  citi- 
zens and  twenty-four  of  the  garrison  had  fallen. 

The  next  day,  after  throwing  in  some  hun- 
dred shots,  Don  Frederic  again  ordered  an  as- 
sault. But  his  troops  felt  that  they,  had  done 
enough  at  that  kind  of  fighting.  It  was  not  to 
their  taste  to  be  scalded  and  burnt.  Besides, 
they  had  been  seized  with  a  superstitious  fear 
of  the  bold  heretics,  whom  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness had  evidently  undertaken  to  defend.  In 
vain  the  trumpets  sounded  the  attack ;  the 
troops  would  not  advance,  even  though  a  few 
of  the  soldiers  were  actually  run  through  the 
body  by  their  own  officers  for  the  refusal.  It 
was  thus  settled  that  Alkmaar  could  not  be 
carried  by  storm. 

The  carpenter  with  his  walking-stick  reached 
the  prince  in  safety,  and  it  was  ordered  that  the 
country  should  be  inundated,  if  Alkmaar  could 
not  otherwise  be  saved.     The  great  sluices  were 


ALKMAAR   SAVED.  329 

opened,  and  a  number  of  the  dikes  were  pierced. 
The  prince  wrote  to  the  citizens  that  should  the 
time  arrive  when  they  could  no  longer  hold  out, 
they  had  only  to  kindle  four  beacon-fires  in  cer- 
tain places  within  the  city,  as  a  signal.  The 
two  great  dikes  which  alone  remained  in  that 
case  would  immediately  be  broken  through, 
and  the  Spaniards  must  either  decamp  or  be 
drowned  where  they  were. 

But  Peter  van  der  Mey  had  a  very  dangerous 
time  in  returning  to  the  city,  and  though  he 
escaped  with  his  life,  he  lost  the  precious  walk- 
ing-stick, with  the  letters  inside.  However, 
this  proved  rather  a  fortunate  circumstance. 
The  Spaniards,  having  thus  found  out  that  they 
were  sure  to  be  swept  into  the  sea  if  they  re- 
mained where  they  then  were,  concluded  to  be 
moving.  On  the  8th  of  October  they  raised 
the  siege,  and  brave  little  Alkmaar  was  saved. 

Within  three  days  afterwards,  the  patriots 
also  gained  a  victory  over  the  fleet  of  Admiral 
Bossu,  on  the  Zuyder  Zee.  The  Spanish  ves- 
sels, numbering  about  thirty  sail,  were  lying 
near   Horn    and   Enkhuyzen.     Most   of    these 


330  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

were  larger  and  more  heavily  armed  than  those 
of  the  patriot  fleet,  which  numbered  but  twenty- 
five  in  all.  On  the  afternoon  of  October  11th, 
the  Dutch  found  a  favorable  opportunity  to  at- 
tack their  foes  at  close  quarters,  and  after  a 
short  general  engagement,  the  Spanish  fleet 
was  routed  and  five  vessels  taken. 

Admiral  Bossu,  being  himself  a  Hollander, 
though  not  at  this  time  a  patriot  by  any  means, 
scorned  to  flee  before  his  victorious  country- 
men. His  ship,  a  very  large  vessel  named 
"  The  Inquisition,"  was  grappled  by  four  of  the 
smaller  Dutch  ships,  at  the  same  time.  One 
of  these  was  soon  forced  to  give  way,  but  the 
other  three  fastened  themselves  inextricably  to 
the  sides  and  prow  of  their  foe.  All  night  long 
the  fierce  action  raged,  while  all  the  four  ves- 
sels drifted  together  before  wind  and  tide.  In 
the  gray  of  dawn,  gallant  John  Haring  of  Horn, 
the  hero  of  the  Diemerdyk,  contrived  to  clam- 
ber on  board  the  Inquisition»and  haul  down  her 
flag.  The  next  moment  a  bullet  pierced  him, 
and  he  expired  on  the  spot.  The  ships  all 
grounded  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  but  now 


ALKMAAR   SAVED.  331 

the  Hollanders  were  perpetually  receiving  fresh 
supplies  of  men  and  ammunition  from  the 
neighboring  shore,  while  the  Admiral  was  sep- 
arated from  all  his  own  fleet,  and  many  of  his 
men  had  already  fallen.  At  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  October  12th,  Bossu  surren- 
dered. With  three  hundred  of  his  men,  he 
was  carried  into  Holland,  and  was  himself  long 
imprisoned  at  Horn.  He  subsequently  trans- 
ferred himself  to  the  opposite  party,  and  died  a 
patriot,  sincerely  lamented  by  the  Prince  of 
Orange. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  before  the  Bar- 
tholomew massacre,  Louis  of  Nassau  had  been 
secretly  negotiating  with  the  French  court,  and 
Charles  IX.  had  promised  to  help  the  Nether- 
landers  in  their  conflict  with  Spain.  Of  course, 
a  deed  of  such  unspeakable  atrocity  had  extin- 
guished all  hope  of  aid  to  Protestants  from  the 
"  Most  Christian  "  monarch  by  whose  command 
it  had  been  perpetrated.  Of  late,  however, 
Charles  had  discovered  his  mistake,  —  we  will 
not  say  his  guilt,  for  his  nature  was  not  very 
sensitive  to  purely  moral  considerations.     In- 


332  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

stead  of  glorying  in  the  crime,  as  at  first,  he 
now  began  to  offer  explanations,  apologies,  re- 
gre'ts.  It  was  an  unpremeditated  act,  the  un- 
happy result  of  a  moment  of  alarm,  and  it  was 
bitterly  deplored.  We  shall  soon  see  how  sin- 
cere was  this  professed  repentance. 

However,  the  prince  consented  to  listen  to 
the  explanations  volunteered  by  Charles,  and 
endeavored  to  secure  some  real  advantage  to 
the  Protestant  cause  from  the  monarch's  pre- 
tended remorse.  Louis  of  Nassau  accordingly 
resumed  negotiations  with  Schonberg,  the 
French  agent  in  Germany.  Provided  the  King 
of  France  would  give  religious  liberty  to  his 
own  subjects,  and  would  either  fight  for  the 
Netherlands  or  furnish  annual  subsidies,  the 
prince  would  engage  that  Holland  and  Zealand 
should  be  placed  under  the  protection  of  his 
majesty,  and  that  all  conquests  in  the  other 
provinces  should  become  incorporated  with  the 
French  dominions.  There  should,  however,  be 
perfect  religious  freedom  for  all  creeds,  and 
strict  fidelity  to  the  ancient  charters  of  rights. 
Either  the  prince,  or  the  estates  of  Holland  and 


ALKMAAR    SAVED.  333 

Zealand,  should  afterwards  repay  the  money 
advanced  by  Charles.  The  only  thing  the 
prince  stipulated  for  himself  was  permission  to 
raise  troops  in  France. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  how  the  real  aims 
of  the  various  negotiators  are  unconsciously 
betrayed.  Charles  IX.  had  just  then  a  private 
"  ax  to  grind," —  indeed,  more  than  one, —  and 
he  needed  the  help  of  the  house  of  Nassau. 
The  crown  of  Poland  was  seeking  a  head  to 
wear  it  at  that  time,  and  Charles's  brother, 
then  Duke  of  Anjou,  was  sure  it  would,  be  a 
perfect  fit  for  his  own.  As  that  throne  was 
elective,  the  influence  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
and  his  brothers  would  be  worth  a  great  deal 
to  the  fortunate  candidate  who  might  secure 
their  good  offices.  Furthermore,  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  might  die  some  day,  and  in  that 
case  Charles  meant  to  obtain  the  crown  of  the 
empire  for  himself,  and  the  Nassaus  could  help 
him  there  also.  It  would  be  worth  while  to 
tolerate  heresy,  even,  for  the  sake  of  such  a 
prize. 

Even  Philip  of  Spain  seems  to  have  taken 


334  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

precisely  the  same  view.  He  secretly  prom- 
ised the  princes  of  Germany,  that,  provided  they 
would  elect  him  to  the  imperial  throne,  he 
would  withdraw  his  troops  from  the  Nether- 
lands, would  tolerate  the  reformed  religion 
agreeably  to  the  treaty  of  Passau,  would  restore 
the  Prince  of  Orange  and  "  all  his  accomplices  " 
to  their  former  rank  and  estates,  and  would 
make  every  part  of  the  empire,  the  Low  Coun- 
tries included,  as  free,  religiously,  as  Germany 
itself. 

This  exhibits  the  real  depth  and  power  of 
Philip's  religious  convictions.  He  had  once 
said  he  would  rather  not  reign  at  all  than  rule 
over  heretics,  but  it  seems  that  an  imperial 
scepter  would  have  reconciled  him  even  to  that. 

But  the  great  prize  at  which  Orange  was 
aiming  was  nobler  far  than  scepters  and  thrones. 
It  was  nothing  less  than  perfect  liberty  of  con- 
science for  every  human  soul  in  the  land, 
whether  high  born  or  lowly,  whether  Papist  or 
Protestant.  For  himself,  he  had  asked  nothing 
save  permission  to  enlist  troops  for  the  great 


ALKMAAR   SAVED.  335 

struggle,  and  to  pay  theni  from  his  own  funds, 
unless  they  should  be  maintained  by  the  states. 

The  prince  was  endeavoring  to  obtain  aid 
from  England,  also,  but  thus  far  in  vain.  In 
the  preceding  May,  the  long  quarrel  between 
England  and  Spain  had  been  settled,  or  at  least 
smoothed  over,  and  a  formal  proclamation  to 
that  effect  had  been  issued  at  Brussels.  Eliz- 
abeth had  joined  hands  with  her  mortal  foes, 
and  turned  away  her  face  from  her  truest 
friends. 

Alva's  position  in  the  Netherlands  had  long 
been  exceedingly  unpleasant  to  himself.  The 
intense  hatred  with  which  he  was  universally 
regarded  made  itself  felt,  even  by  a  heart  so 
callous  as  his.  His  pet  scheme  of  taxation  had 
failed,  his  councilors  were  on  bad  terms  with 
him,  and  his  career  was  visibly  tending  to  an 
inglorious  close.  The  Duke  of  Medina  Coeli, 
his  expected  successor,  had  reached  the  prov- 
inces in  June,  1572,  when  affairs  were  in  so 
violent  a  commotion  that  he  could  not  well  take 
the  helm  at  once.  After  remaining  some 
months,  in  a  position  very  disagreeable  to  him- 


336  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

self  as  well  as  to  Alva,  he  had  left  the  country 
in  disgust  and  returned  to  Spain.  Alva  conse- 
quently retained  the  government  until  the  arri- 
val of  Requesens,  in  November,  1573. 

Alva's  departure  was  signalized  by  one  or 
two  characteristic  acts  which  formed  an  appro- 
priate close  to  his  career.  One  was  his  finally 
absconding  from  Amsterdam  by  night,  in  order 
to  avoid  paying  his  debts.  The  other  was  the 
execution  of  a  nobleman  named  Uitenhoovr,  — 
said  to  have  been  concerned  in  the  capture  of 
Brill,  —  amid  the  most  lingering  tortures,  con- 
trived by  Alva  himself.  He  left  the  Nether- 
lands in  December,  1573,  never  to  return.  On 
his  homeward  journey,  he  is  said  to  have  boasted 
that  eighteen  thousand  six  hundred  persons  in 
the  Netherlands  had  been  executed  by  his  com- 
mands. In  the  Royal  Archives  of  Brussels 
there  are  still  to  be  seen  forty-three  folio  vol- 
umes containing  the  Records  of  the  Council  of 
Blood,  not  to  mention  the  "  Register  of  the  Con- 
demned and  Banished  on  account  of  the  Trou- 
bles in  the  Low  Countries,"  which  fills  three 
folios  more.     As  Motley  remarks,  "  The  time 


ALKMAAR   SAVED.  337 

is  past  when  it  could  be  said  that  the  cruelty 
of  Alva  or  the  enormities  of  his  administra- 
tion have  been  exaggerated  by  party  violence. 
Upon  this  subject,  human  invention  is  incapable 
of  outstripping  the  truth. " 

22 


CHAPTER    XXI Y. 

DEATH  OF   COUNT  LOUIS. 

HE  new  governor-general  was  Don  Louis 
de  Requesens,  Grand  Commander  of 
Castile.  He  had  somewhat  distinguished 
himself  in  the  celebrated  battle  of  Le- 
panto,  and  had  lately  been  Governor  of  Mi- 
lan. He  was  not  a  man  of  extraordinary  ability, 
however,  in  any  respect.  Perhaps  he  was  so 
much  the  better  adapted  to  Philip's  present 
purpose,  on  that  account.  Some  personage 
was  wanted  whose  grave  and  staid  demeanor 
might  enable  him  to  wear  the  garb  of  clemency 
and  moderation,  for  such  was  the  costume  in 
which  the  king  meant  to  have  his  new  gover- 
nor-general masquerade.  Its  exceeding  novelty 
would  probably  render  it  more  striking  than 
any  other  could  possibly  be. 

Before   his   arrival   there  had  been  a  great 


DEATH  OF   COUNT  LOUIS.  339 

flourish  of  trumpets  about  the  general  amnesty 
which  the  new  governor  was  soon  to  announce. 
But  the  prospect  ceased  to  be  flattering,  when 
it  appeared  that,  whatever  else  might  be  con- 
ceded, the  king's  absolute  supremacy,  and  the 
total  prohibition  of  all  worship  except  the  Ro- 
man Catholic,  were  to  be  maintained  as  before. 
Rather  than  abandon  the  very  points  for  which 
they  had  been  righting  so  long,  the  Netherland- 
er were  resolved  to  fight  on.  Much  as  they 
longed  for  peace,  they  would  not  have  it  at  the 
price  of  liberty. 

The  grand  commander  had  found  the  exche- 
quer of  the  Netherlands  in  a  totally  empty  con- 
dition, nor  was  it  clear  from  "whence  it  could 
be  very  promptly  replenished.  The  pay  of  the 
king's  troops  was  in  arrears  to  the  amount  of 
six*and  a  half  millions  of  ducats,  and  the  cur- 
rent expenses  of  the  army  were  not  less  than 
six  hundred  thousand  a  month.  The  estates 
would  not  vote  supplies,  and  consequently  a 
pause  in  military  operations  appeared  inevita- 
ble. Ilequesens  wrote  to  Philip  that,  in  his 
opinion,  the  religious  question  had  but  little  to 


340  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

do  with  the  troubles,  after  all.  He  was  confi- 
dent that  the  people  would  gladly  return  to  the 
bosom  of  the  ancient  church,  if  only  assured 
of  a  pardon.  Of  course  he  was  anxious  to  try 
the  experiment. 

However,  it  was  impossible  to  suspend  hos- 
tilities just  at  this  moment.  The  important 
city  of  Middelburg,  now  the  only  loyal  spot  in 
the  Isle  of  Walcheren,  had  been  long  besieged 
by  the  patriots,  and  was  on  the  point  of  falling 
into  their  hands.  Both  the  garrison  and  the 
citizens  were  now  subsisting  on  dogs,  cats,  and 
other  unclean  animals,  so  that  it  was  plain  that 
they  must  be  relieved  at  once,  if  ever.  Accord- 
ingly the  grand  commander  collected  two 
fleets,  the  one  of  seventy-five  sail,  at  Bergen- 
op-Zoom,  under  Julian  Romero,  and  the  other 
of  thirty  sail,  at  Antwerp,  under  Sancho  d'Av- 
ila. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  had  a  fleet  ready  to 
oppose  the  Spanish  armaments,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Admiral  Boisot.  The  Hollanders  and 
Zealanders  were  essentially  amphibious ;  indeed, 
they  seemed  to  be  more  at  home  on  the  sea 


DEATH  OF  COUNT  LOUIS.  341 

than  on  shore,  if  possible,  particularly  in  fight- 
ing. They  were  fully  conscious  of  being  better 
sailors  than  their  foes,  and,  shortly  before  the 
expected  encounter,  a  brief  speech  from  their 
beloved  prince  roused  their  utmost  enthusiasm. 
On  the  29th  of  January,  1574,  the  great  na- 
val engagement  took  place,  near  Bergen-op- 
Zoom,  under  the  eye  of  Requesens  himself. 
After  one  broadside,  the  Zealanders,  who  were 
wont  neither  to  give  nor  ask  quarter,  grappled 
their  foes  in  a  deadly  embrace.  When  fifteen 
of  Romero's  ships  had  been  taken  and  twelve 
hundred  of  his  men  slain,  the  rest  took  to 
flight,  and  found  shelter  in  Bergen  once  more. 
Romero's  own  ship  went  aground,  and  he  him- 
self escaped  only  by  springing  from  a  port-hole 
into  the  sea.  "  lie  landed,"  says  Motley,  "  at 
the  very  feet  of  the  grand  commander,  who, 
wet  and  cold,  had  been  standing  all  day  upon 
the  dike  of  Schakerloo,  in  the  midst  of  a  pour- 
ing rain,  only  to  witness  the  total  defeat  of  his 
armada  at  last.  '  I  told  your  excellency,' 
said  Romero,  coolly,  as  he  climbed  all  dripping 
on  the  bank,  '  that  I  was  a  land  fighter,  and 


342  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

not  a  sailor.  If  you  were  to  give  me  the  com- 
mand of  a  hundred  fleets,  I  believe  that  none 
of  them  would  fare  better  than  this  has  done.' " 

The  armament  of  Sancho  d'Avila  had  been 
waiting  at  Flushing,  but  hearing  what  had  be- 
fallen Romero's  far  stronger  fleet,  it  returned 
at  once  to  Antwerp.  Middelburg  was  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  Had  the  prince  been  so 
disposed,  he  might  now  have  revenged  the  butch- 
eries of  Zutphen,  Naarden,  and  Harlem.  But 
on  the  contrary,  he  not  only  granted  honorable 
terms,  but  had  them  strictly  fulfilled,  which 
last  the  released  Spaniards  were  not  careful 
to  do  on  their  own  part. 

Count  Louis  had  raised  an  army  in  Germany, 
consisting  of  six  thousand  foot  and  two  or 
three  thousand  horse,  with  which  he  hoped  to 
divert  the  enemy  from  the  siege  of  Leyden, 
which  had  now  been  closely  invested  for  sev- 
eral months.  It  was  his  design  to  attack  Maes- 
tricht.  In  case  that  should  fail  of  accomplish- 
ing the  relief  of  Leyden,  he  proposed  to  ad- 
vance northward,  and  having  made  a  junction 
with  whatever  forces  the  prince  himself  could 


DEATH  OF   COUNT  LOUIS.  343 

muster,  to  take  a  stand  between  Harlem 
and  the  besieged  city.  The  Spaniards  would 
thus  be  obliged  either  to  fight  at  a  disadvan- 
tage, or  to  retreat,  for  the  grand  commander 
would  not  be  able  to  reinforce  them  at  short 
notice. 

But  these  plans  were  fatally  disappointed. 
On  the  arrival  of  Louis  in  the  vicinity  of  Maes- 
tricht,  which  took  place  near  the  end  of  Febru- 
ary, he  found  the  ice  had  begun  to  break  up,  so 
that  he  could  not  cross  the  Meuse.  While  de- 
layed thus  on  the  eastern  bank,  the  Spaniards 
mustered  in  such  force  as  to  prevent  his  car- 
rying out  the  design  of  joining  his  brother, 
then  at  Bommel,  and  on  the  14th  of  April,  he 
was  forced  to  give  battle,  under  very  unfavora- 
ble circumstances,  at  Mookerheyde.  On  that 
fatal  field  both  army  and  leader  perished.  It 
is  related  that  when  Count  Louis  saw  that  the 
battle  was  lost,  he  gathered  a  little  band  of 
cavaliers  for  a  last  and  desperate  charge  upon 
the  victorious  foe.  With  his  young  brother 
Henry  by  his  side,  he  plunged  into  the  thickest 
of  the   fight,  and   they  were  seen  no  more.     It 


344  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

was  impossible  even  to  identify  their  remains, 
among  the  thousands  of  stripped  and  mangled 
corpses  left  on  that  bloody  field. 

For  some  time  after  the  result  of  the  battle 
was  known,  the  fate  of  Count  Louis  was  in  un- 
certainty. The  prince  could  not  believe  that 
his  brothers  had  fallen,  and  day  after  day  he 
continued  to  dispatch  letters  and  to  await  replies. 
But  even  he  was  forced  to  give  them  up  at  last. 
In  losing  Louis  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  had  lost 
his  own  right  arm.  Louis  was  always  earnest, 
fearless,  tender,  and  true.  Heart  to  heart  and 
hand  to  hand,  he  had  shared  with  William  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day.  In  the  very  noon 
of  his  manhood  he  had  now  offered  up  his  life 
on  the  altar  of  freedom. 

In  person  Louis  of  Nassau  was  less  stately 
and  imposing  than  Orange,  yet  of  martial  and 
noble  bearing,  and  engaging  manners.  He 
was  ever  frank  and  truthful,  whether  in  public 
or  private  acts,  even  in  the  days  when  diploma- 
tists declared  that  the  science  of  ruling  was  the 
science  of  lying.  "  All  who  knew  him  person- 
ally  loved  him,"  says  Motley,  "  and  he  was 


DEATH   OF   COUNT  LOUIS.  345 

the  idol  of  his  gallant  brothers.  His  mother 
always  addressed  him  as  her  dearly  beloved, 
her  heart's  cherished  Louis.  '  You  must  come 
soon  to  me,'  she  wrote  in  the  last  year  of  his 
life,  '  for  I  have  many  matters  to  ask  your  ad- 
vice upon,  and  I  thank  you  beforehand,  for  you 
have  loved  me  as  your  mother  all  the  days  of 
your  life,  for  which  may  God  Almighty  have 
you  in  his  holy  keeping.' " 

Three  princely  sons  of  the  Nassau  family  had 
now  fallen,  Adolphus,  Henry,  and  Louis.  Cost- 
ly indeed  was  the  offering  that  mother  had  laid 
upon  liberty's  holy  shrine.  In  these  later  days 
we  ourselves  have  learned  what  it  is  to  sacrifice 
our  bravest  and  best  on  that  same  altar.  And 
still  we  echo  back  the  sublime  saying  of  old, 
"  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori."  Nay, 
we  appeal  to  the  sublimer  maxim  of  our  Chris- 
tian faith,  "  he  laid  down  Ids  life  for  us,  and  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren" 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


SIEGE    OF  LEY  DEN, 


fHE  Spaniards  were  now  at  leisure  to  re- 
sume the  siege  of  Leyden,  which  had 
v£^?  been  interrupted  in  order  to  repel  the 
late  invasion  on  the  German  frontier. 

As  the  city  was  known  to  be  unprovided  with 
supplies  adequate  for  a  long  siege,  and  espe- 
cially since  the  Spaniards  had  learned  how  Hol- 
landers could  fight  in  case  of  an  assault,  it  had 
been  determined  from  the  first  to  reduce  Ley- 
den simply  by  famine.  A  line  of  forts  had 
been  built  completely  around  it,  and  here  the 
Spaniards  sat  down  to  starve  the  Leydeners 
out. 

This  famous  city  is  located  in  the  western 
part  of  Holland,  upon  a  narrow  and  sluggish 
stream  called  the  Old  Rhine.  It  was  in  those 
days   one  of  the  most  beautiful  places  in  the 

346 


Benthuyzen 


Zoeternieer 


-~- Land-ScheidinH-:::;::-'-r;: 


THE   VICINITY    OF    l.EYDKN. 


SIEGE   OF  LEYDEN.  347 

Netherlands.  Broad  green  meadows  surround- 
ed it,  dotted  all  over  with  pretty  villages,  gay 
flower-gardens,  and  fruitful  orchards.  Here 
and  there  rose  the  picturesque  wind-mills, 
which  in  this  flat  country  used  to  supply  the 
place  of  water-power.  Within  the  walls  were 
handsome  streets  and  squares,  shaded  by  lime- 
trees,  poplars,  and  willows.  The  river  served 
to  feed  countless  canals  throughout  the  city, 
and  these  watery  thoroughfares  were  adorned 
by  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  handsome 
stone  bridges.  The  churches  and  other  public 
buildings  were  elegant,  and  the  entire  aspect 
of  the  city  indicated  «comfort  and  thrift. 

The  population  amounted  to  between  forty 
and  fifty  thousand,  but  as  for  soldiers,  there 
were  only  a  small  corps  of  "  freebooters,"  and 
five  companies  of  burgher  guards.  The  besieg- 
ing force  numbered  eight  thousand  at  first,  un- 
der Valdez,  and  it  was  constantly  strengthened 
by  new  arrivals. 

The  citizens  had  been  so  confident  that  the 
Spaniards  who  had  been  summoned  away  to 
"defend   Maestricht  would  find  their  hands  full 


348  WILLIAM   THE   SILEJVT. 

in  that  quarter,  that  they  had  neglected  to 
store  provisions  for  a  second  siege.  Indeed, 
when,  toward  the  close  of  May,  the  army  of 
Yaldez  returned  from  its  brief  campaign 
against  Louis,  they,  found  some  of  their  former 
redoubts  still  undemolished,  as  if  waiting  for 
them. 

Orange  resided  generally  either  in  Delft  or 
in  Rotterdam,  during  the  siege,  and  was  con- 
stantly exerting  himself  to  the  utmost  to  save 
Leyden.  He  had  no  means  of  obtaining  another 
army  sufficient  to  raise  the  siege,  but  he  hoped 
to  devise  some  other  way  of  accomplishing  it, 
provided  the  city  could  hold  out  for  at  least 
three  months.  He  reminded  the  inhabitants 
that  it  was  worth  a  long  and  hard  struggle  on 
their  part,  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  their  friends 
outside,  for  it  was  plain  that  should  Leyden 
fall,  all  Holland  must  share  its  fate.  By  his 
advice,  the  magistrates  took  a  careful  inventory 
of  all  provisions  and  live  stock  to  be  found  in 
the  city,  and  having  purchased  the  whole,  they 
dispensed  it  as  prudently  as  possible.  Half  a 
pound  of  bread,  and  the  same  of  meat,  were* 


SIEGE    OF  LEYDEN.  349 

daily  allowed  to  each  full-grown  man,  and  pro- 
portionally less  to  the  women  and  children. 
It  was  now  about  the  last  of  June,  and  it  was 
plain  that  even  thus  their  scanty  store  could 
not  hold  out  long. 

The  act  of  amnesty  was  proclaimed  by  the 
grand  commander  on  the  6th  of  June.  The 
king  invited  all  his  rebellious  subjects  in  the 
Netherlands,  except  a  few  individuals  who  were 
named,  to  his  paternal  arms,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  This  was  the  sole  condition  of  a  free 
pardon.  But  unfortunately  it  was  the  precise 
thing  of  all  others  which  the  offenders  could 
not  do.  Whatever  had  helped  to  begin  the 
contest,  it  was  now  a  religious  war.  Few  of 
the  people  were  Protestants  at  first,  but  now  in 
Holland,  at  least,  a  Romanist  could  hardly  be 
found.  Rather  than  go  to  mass,  they  would  go 
to  the  stake.  Even  had  they  been  inclined  to 
accept  the  terms  proposed,  they  knew  Philip  too 
well  to  believe  his  promises  would  be  kept.  In 
fact,  only  one  or  two  individuals  in  all  the 
country  came  forward  to  receive  the  royal  for- 


350  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

giveness.  One  of  them  was  a  brewer  of 
Utrecht,  and  the  other  the  son  of  a  refugee  ped- 
dler from  Leyden. 

The  only  chance  of  saving  the  beleaguered 
city  was  by  breaking  the  great  dikes  and  inun- 
dating the  land.  Though  Leyden  was  only  five 
miles  from  the  sea,  it  was  necessary,  on  account 
of  the  nature  of  the  coast  immediately  west  of 
the  city,  and  the  occupation  of  a  part  of  it  by 
the  enemy,  to  make  the  attempt  from  the  south. 
There  were  great  sluice-gates  at  Rotterdam, 
Delftshaven,  and  Schiedam,  all  situated  within 
a  very  few  miles  of  each  other,  upon  the  Meuse, 
of  which  the  prince  still  kept  the  control, 
though  the  Spaniards  held  the  coast  from  a 
point  a  little  west  of  Schiedam,  round  to  the 
Hague.  By  opening  these  gates,  and  piercing 
the  dikes  farther  east,  the  water  would  deluge 
the  low  lands  lying  between  Rotterdam  and 
Leyden,  a  distance  of  some  fifteen  miles.  The 
destruction  of  property  must  of  course  be  im- 
mense, but  the  eloquent  representations  of 
Orange  at  length  gained  the  consent  of  the 
estates,  and  the  task  was  at  once  undertaken. 


SIEGE    OF  LETDEN.  351 

The  ladies  of  Holland  even  gave  their  jewels 
and  plate  to  aid  in  defraying  the  expense  of 
this  work  of  desolation,  for  every  one  felt  that 
it  was  "  better  their  land  should  be  drowned 
than  lost." 

It  was  early  in  August  that  the  dikes  were 
opened,  under  the  personal  superintendence  of 
the  prince.  But  it  was  not  until  the  21st  of 
August  that  Leyden  received  the  glad  news  of 
what  was  being  done  for  its  relief.  For  some 
time  previous  the  people  had  been  subsisting 
on  malt  cake,  for  want  of  bread,  and  but  little 
of  that  now  remained.  On  the  arrival  of  this 
joyful  intelligence,  however,  they  gave  vent  to 
their  feelings  by  lively  martial  music  and  firing 
of  guns,  much  to  the  amazement  of  the  Span- 
iards, who  could  not  conceive  what  had  made 
the  starving  people  so  merry. 

At  that  very  time,  Orange  was  lying  ill  of  a 
fever  at  Rotterdam,  but  he  took  good  care  that 
they  should  not  be  informed  of  it.  Even  on 
his  sick-bed  he  was  incessantly  planning  how  to 
effect  their  relief,  and  dictating  letters  to  cheer 
them    in    their   present    distress.     Meanwhile 


352-  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

about  two  hundred  vessels  had  been  assembled 
in  the  vicinity  of  Rotterdam,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Admiral  Boisot.  These  were  all  of 
light  draught,  each  having  from  ten  to  eighteen 
oars,  and  generally  ten  pieces  of  artillery. 
They  were  manned  by  twenty-five  hundred  vet- 
erans, in  all,  eight  hundred  of  whom  were  the 
wild  and  ferocious  Zealanders. 

It  was  already  September — the  fourth  month 
of  the  siege  —  when  the  flotilla  commenced  its 
strange  and  eventful  voyage  across  the  inun- 
dated country.  It  was  not  difficult  to  advance 
as  far  as  the  "  land-scheiding,"  a  strong  dike 
only  five  miles  from  Leyden.  But  this  barrier 
was  found  to  be  still  a  foot  and  a  half  above 
water.  Furthermore,  it  was  guarded  by  the 
enemy.  However,  the  admiral  took  it  by  sur- 
prise, and  successfully  defended  his  position  in 
a  subsequent  severe  engagement,  where  hun- 
dreds of  Spaniards  fell.  Having  broken  down 
the  dike  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  foe,  the  flo- 
tilla sailed  through,  expecting  to  find  a  tolera- 
bly clear  passage  thence  to  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity of  the  city.     But  it  appeared  that  within 


SIEGE    OF  LEYDEN.  353 

the  "  landscheiding  "  were  other  dikes  success- 
ively inclosing  Leyden  and  its  suburbs.  Only 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  farther  on  rose  the 
"  Green-way."  This  also  having  been  seized 
and  broken  through,  the  admiral  attempted  to 
enter  a  large  mere,  called  "Freshwater  Lake," 
which  lay  directly  in  his  way.  But  the  water 
was  here  so  shallow  that  his  fleet  could  not  ap- 
proach the  lake  except  through  a  canal,  which 
was  strongly  guarded  by  the  enemy.  After  a 
desperate  engagement,  he  was  forced  to  give  up 
the  hope  of  entering  the  lake  at  present. 

The  fleet  lay  there  for  some  days,  unable  to 
stir,  until  a  strong  north-west  wind  raised  the 
water  once  more.  By  making  a  wide  circuit, 
Boisot  managed  to  get  beyond  a  third  dike 
which  connected  two  of  the  suburban  villages. 
The  Spaniards  occupying  these,  panic-stricken, 
retreated  to  a  village  still  nearer  the  city,  called 
North  Aa.  But  the  water  became  more  shal- 
low as  it  spread  itself  over  a  wider  territory, 
the  wind,  too,  was  unfavorable,  and  the  fleet 
here  got  aground  once  more.  The  "  Kirk- 
way,"  which  was  the  only  remaining  barrier  of 

23 


354  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

importance,  had  been  demolished,  but  the  wa- 
ter was  only  nine  inches  deep,  while  the  vessels 
required  eighteen  or  twenty.  And  so  long  as 
the  vanes  still  pointed  east,  there  was  no  hope 
that  it  would  rise. 

All  through  September,  while  the  fleet  was 
thus  slowly  forcing  its  way  to  their  relief,  the 
people  of  Ley  den  were  starving.  The  word  is 
short  and  easy  to  speak,  but  the  process, — how 
long  and  terrible  to  endure !  There  had  been 
no  bread  in  the  city  for  a  great  while,  there  was 
no  malt  cake,  nor  even  any  horse-flesh,  now. 
Dogs,  cats,  and  rats  were  eagerly  devoured  by 
the  skeleton  wretches  who  were  so  happy  as  to 
get  a  taste  of  such  dainties.  Offal,  hides,  green 
leaves  stripped  from  the  trees,  blades  of  grass 
plucked  from  between  paving-stones,  were  all 
used  for  human  food,  in  the  vain  effort  to 
avert  starvation.  Pestilence  followed  hard  upon 
famine,  and  the  twain,  in  their  grim  and 
ghastly  might,  mowed  down  the  people  like 
grass.  In  many  a  house  whole  families  lay 
dead  at  once. 

There   are   those  among  us  who  will  never 


SIEGE    OF  LETDEN.  355 

forget  how  hard  it  was  to  know  that  some  stal- 
wart young  soldier  whom  they  had  sent  forth 
in  his  manly  prime  to  fight  for  freedom  —  per- 
haps a  son,  a  brother,  a  husband  —  lay  wasting 
with  hunger  in  some  southern  prison,  never 
more  to  see  home.  How  many  a  wife  or 
mother  would  fain  have  perished  there  in  his 
stead !  But  tell  me  what  it  would  be,  not 
yourself  alone  to  suffer,  not  merely  to  bear  the 
keener  anguish  of  knowing  that  a  beloved  one 
was  pining  far  away,  but  to  have  him  perish 
before  your  eyes  !  Suppose  it  were  not  merely 
one,  but  many,  all,  that  you  were  forced  to  look 
on,  while  silver-haired  and  venerable  parents, 
tender  little  children,  and  even  the  baby  on 
your  bosom,  were  starving  to  death.  This  was 
what  Leyden  endured. 

There  was  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  upon  a 
lofty  mound  piled  by  human  hands  in  some 
long-forgotten  age,  an  ancient  tower,  whose 
crumbling  battlements,  surrounded  and  over- 
grown by  masses  of  foliage,  commanded  a  wide 
view  of  the  level  country.  To  its  summit,  day 
after  day,  the  famished  and  almost  despairing 


356  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

citizens  would  weakly  and  wearily  climb,  that 
perchance  they  might  catch  some  glimpses  of 
the  long-delayed  relief.  Why  it  came  not  was 
a  mystery  ;  perhaps  it  would  never  come.  No 
messenger,  save  carrier-doves,  could  pass  the 
enemy's  lines  to  tell  them  what  was  being  done 
by  their  friends  outside ; 

Thus  they  lay  week  after  week  in  the  very 
jaws  of  death.  Even  at  Harlem  there  had  not 
been  that  intensity  of  wretchedness  to  which 
Leyden  was  now  reduced.  Yet  Motley  tells  us, 
"  they  spurned  the  summons  to  surrender. 
Leyden  was  sublime  in  its  despair.  A  few 
murmurs  were,  however,  occasionally  heard  at 
the  steadfastness  of  the  magistrates,  and  a  dead 
body  was  placed  at  the  door  of  the  burgomas- 
ter, as  a  silent  witness  against  his  inflexibility. 
A  party  of  the  more  faint-hearted  even  assailed 
the  heroic  Adrian  Van  der  Werf  with  threats 
and  reproaches  as  he  passed  through  the 
streets 

"  '  Your  menaces  move  me  not,'  replied  the 
brave  burgomaster ;  i  m  ylife  is  at  your  disposal ; 
here  is  my  sword,  plunge  it  into  my  breast,  and 


SIEGE    OF  LEYDEN.  357 

divide  my  flesh  among  you.  Take  my  body  to 
appease  your  hunger,  but  expect  no  surrender 
so  long  as  I  remain  alive.' 

"  Wretched  and  desperate  as  these  starving 
men  were,  they  could  not  help  applauding  the 
magistrate's  courage  and  resolution.  With  a 
"wild  enthusiasm  they  mounted  the  ramparts, 
and  hurled  back  the  taunts  of  their  foes  upon 
their  heads.  c  Ye  call  us  rat-eaters  and  dog- 
eaters,'  they  cried,  '  and  it  is  true.  So  long, 
then,  as  ye  hear  dog  bark  or  cat  mew  within 
the  Avails,  ye  may  know  that  the  city  holds  out. 
And  when  all  has  perished  but  ourselves,  be 
sure  that  we  will  each  devour  our  left  arms, 
retaining  our  right  to  defend  our  women,  our 
liberty,  and  our  religion,  against  the  foreign 
tyrant.  Should  God,  in  his  wrath,  doom  us  to 
destruction  and  deny  us  all  relief,  even  then 
will  we  maintain  ourselves  for  ever  against  your 
entrance.  When  the  last  hour  has  come,  with 
our  own  hands  we  will  set  fire  to  the  city,  and 
perish,  men,  women,  and  children  together,  in 
the  flames,  rather  than  suffer  our  homes  to  be 
polluted  and  our  liberties  to  be  crushed.'  " 


358  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Still  the  fleet  lay  stranded  at  North  Aa,  the 
water  continued  to  sink,  and  even  the  stout 
heart  of  Admiral  Boisot  was  almost  in  despair. 
But  at  length  He  who  rules  over  wind  and 
wave  came  in  the  tempest  to  their  relief.  On 
the  night  of  the  1st  and  2nd  of  October  there 
was  a  furious  gale,  first  from  the  north-west, 
until  the  waters  of  the  North  Sea  had  been 
piled,  as  it  were,  upon  the  southern  coast  of 
Holland,  and  then,  shifting  to  the  south-west,  it 
blew  still  more  violently,  until  the  ocean  had 
deluged  the  now  undefended  coast  for  miles 
inland.  The  vessels  soon  had  more  than 
two  feet  of  water.  In  the  midst  of  the 
storm  and  darkness,  the  fleet  set  forth,  row- 
ing toward  the  village  of  Zoeterwoude.  They 
were  challenged  by  sentinel  vessels  of  the 
enemy  at  the  outset  of  this  midnight  voyage. 
Cannons  flashed  and  thundered  their  reply ; 
there  followed  a  short,  fierce  struggle,  and  the 
Spanish  ships  went  down. 

On  went  the  flotilla,  and  soon  gained  the 
great  mere  which  they  had  once  tried  in  vain 
to  enter.     The  strong  forts  of  Zoeterwoude  and 


SIEGE    OF  LETDEN.  359 

Lamraen  still  lay  before  them,  the  one  five 
hundred  yards  from  the  city,  and  the  other 
only  two  hundred  and  fifty.  In  the  gray  dawn 
the  garrison  of  Zoeterwoude  perceived  the  fleet 
actually  close  at  hand,  and,  giving  way  to  a 
sudden  panic,  they  fled  with  the  greatest  pre- 
cipitation along  a  road  leading  toward  the 
Hague.  Their  narrow,  slippery  pathway  was 
every  moment  becoming  more  deeply  sub- 
merged in  the  rising  flood,  and  hundreds,  los- 
ing their  precarious  foothold,  sank  to  rise  no 
more.  The  wild  Zealanders,  whose  corsair  life 
had  taught  them  neither  to  give  nor  take  quar- 
ter, springing  from  their  boats  upon  the 
crumbling  dike,  or  hurling  their  harpoons  with 
deadly  aim,  drove  their  enemies  into  the  deep. 
Then  setting  fire  to  the  deserted  fort,  they 
pressed  on  toward  Lammen. 

Lammen  was  well  garrisoned  and  fortified. 
It  looked  discouragingly  strong.  Nor  was  it  to 
be  forgotten  that  Yaldez  himself  was  at  Ley- 
derdorp,  not  very  far  away.  Whether  the  light 
flotilla  could  carry  the  fort  by  storm  was  doubt- 
ful ;    it   was    certain    that   it    would    never   be 


360  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

allowed  to  pass  under  its  guns.  Still  Boisot 
determined  to  make  an  attack  the  next  morn- 
ing. Indeed,  unless  another  gale  should  raise 
the  water  so  as  to  admit  of  making  a  wide  de- 
tour and  approaching  the  city  from  the  oppo- 
site side,  there  was  no  alternative. 

The  admiral  had  sent  a  carrier-dove  to  the 
citizens,  bearing  the  good  news  that  Lammen 
alone  kept  him  from  their  gates.  Wild  with 
mingled  hope  and  anxiety,  they  resolved  that 
at  daybreak  they  would  make  a  bold  sortie  to 
aid  the  attack  on  the  fort.  There  was  little 
sleep  that  night,  either  within  or  without  the 
city.  The  crisis  was  at  hand ;  the  morrow 
would  bring  either  relief  or  despair. 

In  the  dead  of  night,  a  tremendous  crash 
was  heard  alike  by  besiegers  and  besieged. 
Each  awaited  in  breathless  suspense  the  fatal 
onset  which  they  were  sure  it  must  portend. 
But  all  was  still  as  death ;  the  night  was  pitch- 
dark,  and  no  one  could  solve  the  mystery. 
Then  a  long  train  of  lights  silently  flitted  like 
a  spectral  procession  across  the  black  waters 
.that   now  inclosed   the   city.     When   morning 


SIEGE    OF  LEYDEN.  361 

came  at  last,  it  found  the  formidable  fortress 
abandoned.  Its  garrison  had  fled  before  the 
rising  waves  in  sudden  panic.  Yaldez  himself 
had  retreated  from  Leyderdorp  at  the  same 
moment,  little  dreaming  that  a  whole  side  of 
the  city  had  just  been  laid  bare  to  their  en- 
trance by  the  falling  of  a  portion  of  the  wall. 
There  was  nothing  more  in  Boisot's  way,  and, 
with  emotions  no  words  can  paint,  the  starving 
city  hailed  the  long-expected  relief. 

As  the  flotilla  entered,  immense  throngs  of 
gaunt  and  haggard  creatures  pressed  around, 
their  wasted  countenances  now  radiant  with 
joy.  The  vessels  moved  on  through  the  ca- 
nals, throwing  bread  among  the  famishing 
crowds  on  either  side  as  they  passed.  At  the 
landing  the  magistrates  received  the  admiral 
as  their  deliverer,  and  forthwith  the  entire 
multitude,  with  one  accord,  began  to  move 
toward  the  great  church.  The  admiral  led  the 
way,  his  wild  Zealand  sailors  mingling  with 
soldiers  and  citizens  in  a  long  procession,  which, 
however  miscellaneous  its  arrangement,  must 
have  been  a   most  impressive  spectacle.     The 


362  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

vast  edifice  was  thronged.  The  men,  women, 
and  children  who  had  for  so  many  weeks  been 
enduring  a  continual  martyrdom  now  bowed 
in  devout  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  had  sus- 
tained and  saved  them.  "  After  prayers,"  says 
Motley,  "  the  whole  vast  congregation  joined  in 
the  thanksgiving  hymn.  Thousands  of  voices 
raised  the  song,  but  few  were  able  to  carry  it 
to  its  conclusion,  for  the  universal  emotion, 
deepened  by  the  music,  became  too  full  for  ut- 
terance. The  hymn  was  abruptly  suspended, 
while  the  multitude  wept  like  children." 

At  two  o'clock  iu  the  afternoon  of  that  memo- 
rable 3rd  of  October,  1574,  a  note  was  brought 
to  the  Prince  of  Orange  at  Delft,  as  he  was  sit- 
ting in  church.  It  contained  the  glad  tidings 
that  Leyden  was  saved.  At  the  close  of  the 
sermon  it  was  read  aloud  by  the  minister,  that 
all  might  rejoice  and  give  thanks.  The  next 
day  the  prince  went  himself  to  congratulate 
the  heroic  citizens  who  had  suffered  so  long 
and  so  well.  In  the  mean  time  a  powerful 
wind  from  the  north-east  was  rolling  back  the 
ocean  to  its  wonted  bounds,  as  if  by  ail  omnip- 


Wlto's-EYK  VIKW  OF   I.KYDEN  AT  THE  RAISING  OK  THE  SIEGE. 

From  a  Dutch  work  published  in  172"). 


SIEGE   OF  LET  DEN.  363 

otent  hand.  Within  a  few  days  the  inundated 
territory  was  bare  again,  and  the  people  began 
to  rebuild  the  dikes. 

Leyden  had  suffered  not  for  itself  alone, 
but  for  all  Holland.  As  a  memorial  of  the  pub- 
lic gratitude  to  this  heroic  city,  the  university 
of  Leyden,  since  so  celebrated,  was  immediately 
founded,  endowed,  and  provided  with  instruc- 
tors of  eminent  learning  and  piety.  In  the 
following  February,  the  new  institution  was 
solemnly  consecrated  by  imposing  ceremonies, 
a  full  account  of  which  our  young  readers  may 
find  at  the  close  of  the  second  volume  of  Mot- 
ley's Dutch  Republic.  Among  the  rest,  there 
was  "  an  elegant  Latin  poem,"  and  "  an  eloquent 
oration,"  both  of  which  doubtless  had  much  to 
say  of  the  heroism  which  the  university  was 
founded  to  commemorate ;  but  so  far  as  we 
know,  neither  production  has  come  down  to  us. 

One  is  naturally  reminded  of  the  words 
of  President  Lincoln  at  Gettysburg:  —  "The 
world  will  little  note  nor  long  remember  what 
we  say  here,  but  it  will  never  forget  what  they 
did  here."     Though  the  eloquent  speech  of  the 


364  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

Keverend  Caspar  Kolhas  has  passed  into  obliv- 
ion, the  world  has  not  forgotten  —  it  never  will 
forget,  —  "  what  they  did  "  at  Leyden,  three  hun- 
dred years  ago.  To  the  end  of  time,  from  this 
story  of  high  resolve  and  martyr-like  endur- 
ance men  shall 

"  Learn  how  sublime  a  thing  it  is 
To  suffer  and  be  strong." 


CHAPTER    XXYI. 

CAPTURE    OF   SCBOUWEN. 

2EjN  the  summer  of  1574,  while  the  siege  of 
JE  Leyden  was  still  going  on,  the  grand  com- 
mander  had  privately  made  some  sugges- 


tions to  the  Prince  of  Orange  about  peace. 

The  truth  was,  that  Requesens  had  no  money 
with  which  to  carry  on  the  war.  The  re-con- 
quest of  the  Dutch  sand-bars  and  swamps 
seemed  likely  to  swallow  up  the  entire  revenues 
of  the  Spanish  dominions.  All  Mexico  and 
Peru  could  not  furnish  enough  gold  and  silver 
to  subdue  little  Protestant  Holland. 

Though  fifteen  of  the  seventeen  Netherland 
states  still  professed  to  consider  Requesens  their 
lawful  governor,  they  were  not  very  liberal  in 
providing  him  with  the  u  sinews  of  war."  In 
June,  1574,  Requesens  convoked  the  estates  at 
Brussels,   and   offered   to   abolish   the    Blood- 

365 


366  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

Council,  provided  they  would  vote  him  a  hand- 
some subsidy.  But  inasmuch  as  that  insti- 
tution was  well-nigh  extinct  already,  the  es- 
tates insisted  on  some  more  valuable  reward 
than  its  dead  carcass.  If  his  excellency  would 
send  away  the  Spanish  troops,  for  instance,  re- 
store public  offices  to  native  Netherlanders,  and 
effect  other  needful  reforms,  it  might  be  worth 
while  to  grant  him  an  appropriation.  There 
was  much  talking  and  writing,  resolving  and 
remonstrating,  for  several  weeks ;  but  it  all 
ended  in  smoke. 

The  grand  commander  then  proceeded  to  try 
what  virtue  there  might  be  in  diplomacy.  The 
eminent  Saint  Aldegonde  had  fallen  into  his 
hands  about  the  time  that  the  rehels  captured 
Count  Bossu ;  but  he  had  not  ventured  to  exe- 
cute him  lest  the  act  should  be  retaliated  upon 
his  admiral.  Aware  that  Saint  Aldegonde  pos- 
sessed great  influence,  he  released  him  on  pa- 
role, and  sent  him  to  Orange,  to  try  what  he 
could  accomplish  in  the  line  of  negotiations. 
He  was,  however,  strictly  forbidden  to  make  the 
smallest  concession  on  the  two  great  points,  — 


CAPTURE    OF  SCHQUWEN.  367 

the  king's  supremacy,  and  the  religious  ques- 
tion. Neither  the  prince  nor  the  estates  of  his 
two  provinces  would  have  anything  to  do  with 
negotiations  on  such  a  basis,  which  to  them  was 
no  basis  at  all.  They  sent  back  a  very  blunt 
statement  to  that  effect,  by  the  envoy,  address- 
ing it  to  the  king  himself.  Saint  Aldegonde 
delivered  his  unsatisfactory  report,  and  re-en- 
tered his  prison,  where  he  remained  until  after 
the  relief  of  Ley  den.  Other  negotiators  tried 
their  hands,  informally,  at  the  same  unpromis- 
ing enterprise,  before  the  close  of  the  year,  with 
no  better  success.  Peace  was  not  thus  to  be 
obtained. 

At  an  assembly  of  the  estates  of  Holland, 
October  20th,  1574,  the  prince  set  forth  the  in- 
convenience of  their  present  anomalous  kind  of 
government.  Though  he  was  nominally  only 
stadtholder  of  Holland  and  Zealand  under  the 
king,  additional  powers  and  duties  had  been 
thrust  upon  him  by  these  provinces  from  time 
to  time,  till  they  had  almost  forced  him  into  an 
absolute  dictatorship.  But  observing  that  of 
late  the  cities  —  which  constituted  one  branch 


368  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

of  the  estates  —  seemed  ambitious  to  get  more 
power  into  their  own  hands,  the  prince  now 
offered  to  resign  all  his  personal  authority,  so 
that  the  whole  management  of  affairs  should 
rest  with  the  estates. 

It  was  instantly  perceived  that  it  would  never 
do  to  let  their  pilot  leave  the  helm,  in  a  time 
like  this.  Full  of  confidence  in  the  prince,  the 
estates  shortly  after  offered  him  "  absolute 
power,  authority,  and  sovereign  command," 
with  the  title  of  governor  or  regent.  As  for- 
merly, he  was  to  be  aided  by  a  council,  and  was 
to  consult  the  estates  in  regard  to  supplies, 
taxes,  or  changes  of  administration.  The  prince 
consented  to  take  the  responsible  office,  and  the 
estates  agreed  to  furnish  forty-five  thousand 
florins  a  month  for  carrying  on  the  war.  In 
the  course  of  the  following  summer,  articles  of 
union  between  Holland  and  Zealand  were  agreed 
upon,  and  the  prince  undertook  the  government 
of  the  two  provinces  thus  consolidated,  in  July, 
1575. 

The  same  month  witnessed  the  close  of  the 
fruitless  conferences  of  Breda.      The  emperor 


CAPTURE    OF  SCHOUWEN.  369 

Maximilian  had  once  more  undertaken  the  office 
of  mediator.  His  agent  in  the  matter  was 
"William's  brother-in-law,  Count  Schwartzburg, 
while  the  Spanish  government  had  sent  four 
plenipotentiaries,  and  the  estates  ten  commis- 
sioners, to  confer  together  on  the  subject  of 
peace.  Accordingly,  they  had  assembled  at 
Breda,  and  conferred  from  March  till  July, 
without  effecting  anything  whatever.  The 
provinces  were  fully  resolved  never  to  give  up 
the  chartered  rights  and  the  religious  toleration 
for  which  they  had  been  contending  so  long, 
and  Philip  was  equally  determined  never  to, 
grant  either.  So  matters  remained  just  as  they 
were  before. 

The  third  marriage  of  the  prince  took  place 
on  the  12th  of  June,  1575.  Some  time  before, 
the  unworthy  Anne  of  Saxony  had  been  divorced 
for  the  grossest  misconduct.  From  her  child- 
hood she  had  displayed  a  most  violent  temper, 
and  had  made  herself  the  town's  talk  at  Brus- 
sels, very  soon  after  her  marriage,  by  her  inso- 
lence toward  her  husband,  her  childish  quarrels 
with    the    Countess  Egmont,  and   her  lawless 

24 


370  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

conduct  in  general.  "  I  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  bear  it  with  sadness  and  patience,"  said 
the  magnanimous  Orange,  "  hoping  that  with 
age  would  come  improvement."  But  as  years 
went  by,  her  temper  only  grew  more  violent. 
She  used  to  drink  to  intoxication,  to  swear  hor- 
ribly, to  berate  her  husband  for  sacrificing  his 
wealth  for  his  country,  and  to  threaten  the  lives 
of  those  about  her  with  pistols  and  daggers. 
At  last  her  conduct  became  not  merely  scan- 
dalous, but  notoriously  criminal,  and  she  was 
therefore  divorced.  During  the  last  years  of 
her  life  she  was  a  raving  lunatic,  and  was  kept 
in  solitary  confinement  in  the  palace  of  her  un- 
cle, the  Elector  Augustus. 

The  new  bride  of  William  the  Silent  was  the 
Princess  Charlotte  de  Bourbon,  daughter  of  the 
Duke  de  Montpensier,  one  of  the  fiercest  Cath- 
olics in  France.  While  still  a  child,  Charlotte 
had  been  forced  to  enter  a  convent.  She  was 
always  secretly  inclined  to  the  Protestant  faith, 
and  in  1572,  she  escaped  from  her  convent  and 
her  native  country  to  the  court  of  the  Elector 
Palatine,  at  Heidelberg.     Her  father  disowned 


CAPTURE   OF  SCHOUWEN.  371 

her,  and  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
her  from  that  time.  She  was  a  most  devoted 
and  affectionate  wife  to  William  of  Orange,  and 
some  who  had  opposed  the  match  were  after- 
wards free  to  confess  that  in  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte he  had  an  inestimable  treasure. 

As  nearly  all  the  islands  of  the  Zealand  arch- 
ipelago were  now  held  by  the  patriots,  Reques- 
ens  was  very  anxious  to  re-capture  some  seaport 
among  them,  for  the  reception  of  any  naval 
force  which  might  arrive  from  Spain.  Walch- 
eren  was  probably  out  of  the  question,  but  the 
island  of  Schouwen  would  serve  his  purpose  ex- 
tremely well,  could  it  be  recovered.  The  Span- 
iards still  held  the  island  of  Tholen,  which  lay 
just  north  of  South  Beveland,  and  close  to  the 
main  land.  Requesens  determined  to  make 
this  his  base  of  operations  for  the  capture  of 
Schouwen.  Having  prepared  a  large  flotilla  of 
boats  and  other  light  craft,  he  came  to  Tholen 
in  person,  to  organize  the  expedition. 

But  all  the  bays  and  straits  of  the  archipel- 
ago were  swarming  with,  the  vessels  of  the  bold 
Zealanders,   who  were  beyond  everything  for 


372  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

marine  exploits.  It  would  be  no  easy  task  to 
make  the  trip  to  Schouwen  in  the  teeth  of  such 
foes.  However,  while  the  grand  commander 
was  revolving  the  matter,  a  few  traitorous  Zea- 
landers  volunteered  to  show  him  another  mode 
of  getting  there.  Close  to  Tholen  there  lay  a 
little  uninhabited  islet  named  Philipsland. 
There  was  a  narrow  flat  extending,  beneath  the 
water,  from  thence  across  to  Duiveland,  six 
miles  distant,  and  Duiveland  was  separated 
from  Schouwen  only  by  a  shallow  channel  two 
or  three  miles  wide.  'The  water  might  be 
waded  at  low  tide,  and  thus,  under  cover  of 
night,  the  troops  might  succeed  in  reaching 
Schouwen,  in  spite  of  the  swarms  of  Zealand 
cruisers,  since  they  could  not  get  near  enough 
to  do  much  harm. 

Three  years  before,  an  exploit  very  similar  to 
the  one  now  proposed  had  been  brilliantly  ac- 
complished under  the  command  of  a  gallant 
old  Spanish  colonel  named  Mondragon.  In 
that  case,  the  party  had  waded,  under  cover  of 
darkness,  from  the  vicinity  of  Bergen-op-Zoom 
to  the  island  of  South  Beveland,  which,  by  the 


CAPTURE    OF  SCHOUWEN.  373 

only  fordable  route,  was  a  distance  of  nearly 
ten  English  miles.  The  present  enterprise  was 
to  be  attempted  in  the  face  of  alert  and  desper- 
ate foes,  however,  while  the  former  had  only 
the  darkness  and  the  waves  to  dread.  Yet  the 
Spanish  veterans  hailed  the  project  with  enthu- 
siasm. 

Half  the  troops  were  sent  on  board  the  boats, 
under  the  command  of  the  experienced  Mon- 
dragon.  The  others,  together  with  two  hun- 
dred pioneers,  were  to  wade  through  the  sea  to 
Duiveland,*  and  thence  to  Schouwen.  At  mid- 
night, on  the  27th  of  September,  they  set  forth 
from  the  shore  of  Philipsland,  each  soldier  car- 
rying powder  and  rations  in  a  canvas  bag  sus- 
pended at  his  neck.  Two  and  two  the  long 
procession  marched  into  the  black  waves,  then 
nearly  up  to  the  neck.  Each  followed  closely 
in  the  steps  of  the  one  before  him,  for  the  sub- 
merged flat  was  so  narrow  that  a  single  slip 

*  Duiveland  was  what  is  now  the  eastern  end  of  Schouwen.  From 
comparing  maps  made  at  different  periods,  it  would  seem  that  the 
shallow  channel  between  them,  at  that  day  two  or  three  miles  wide, 
and  crowded  with  rushes  and  briers,  has  gradually  been  filled  up, 
ao  that  the  two  islands  are  now  considered  as  one. 


374  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

might  plunge  one  into  a  fatal  abyss.  The  night 
was  black  and  tempestuous.  The  lightning 
glared  fitfully  upon  that  strange  and  ghostlike 
train  as  it  marched  silently  and  steadily  on, 
mile  after  mile,  through  the  sea.  Now  and 
then  rose  a  quick,  smothered  cry,  as  some  hap- 
less soldier  missed  his  footing  and  went  down. 
On  either  side,  the  Zealand  cruisers  were  crowd- 
ing as  near  as  possible  to  their  pathways,  some 
even  running  aground  in  their  eagerness  to  get 
within  easy  reach  of  the  Spaniards.  But  the 
fitful  play  of  the  lightning  was  not  favorable  to 
accurate  gunnery,  nor  did  the  faint  moonlight 
sometimes  gleaming  through  the  drifting  clouds 
serve  them  much  better.  Now  and  then  the 
Spaniards  paused  for  a  moment  to  return  the 
incessant  fire  of  their  enemies.  Sometimes  the 
Zealanders  succeeded  in  getting  near  enough  to 
throw  their  deadly  harpoons,  or  drag  down  the 
struggling  Spaniards  with  boat-hooks,  or  beat 
out  their  brains  with  heavy  flails.  When  they 
could  do  nothing  else,  they  poured  out  all  sorts 
of  taunts  and  mockeries,  for  could  they  by  any 
means  hinder  their  enemies  till  the  rising  of  the 


CAPTURE    OF  SCHOUWEN.  375 

tide,  they  were  sure  to  be  swept  away.  The 
pioneers,  in  fact,  were  thus  overtaken,  and  most 
of  them  were  drowned.  The  rear-guard,  hav- 
ing scarcely  left  Philipsland,  were  just  able  to 
save  themselves  by  turning  back.  The  main 
body  reached  Duiveland  about  daybreak,  not, 
however,  without  a  considerable  loss. 

There  were  ten  companies  of  patriot  troops 
in  Duiveland,  but  their  commander  was  slain 
at  the  moment  the  Spaniards  arrived,  and  in  a 
panic  they  fled.  Duiveland  was  quickly  won. 
It  only  remained  to  cross  over  to  Schouwen. 
The  reeds  and  briers  which  encumbered  the 
channel  made  it  difficult  marching,  but  they  also 
kept  the  Zealand  vessels  at  a  distance.  No 
sooner  had  the  Spaniards  reached  Schouwen 
and  fired  one  volley  than  the  five  companies  of 
patriot  troops,  who  were  to  resist  their  landing, 
broke  ranks  and  fled.  The  rest  of  the  Spanish 
force  came  in  the  flotilla,  as  soon  as  a  signal 
apprised  them  of  the  success  of  their  comrades. 

Colonel  Mondragon  then  besieged  Zierickzee, 
the  capital  of  the  island.  The  siege  was  pro- 
tracted, for  Mondragon  had  not  means  to  push 


376  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

it  vigorously.  In  May,  1576,  Orange  made  a 
desperate  attempt  to  relieve  the  place  by  sea. 
Mondragon  had  obstructed  the  harbor  with 
hulks  and  chains,  as  well  as  a  submerged  dike 
of  piles  and  rubbish.  Admiral  Boisot,  the  hero 
of  Ley  den,  drove  his  ship  boldly  against  the 
obstructions,  but  could  not  break  through.  His 
vessel  became  entangled,  and  finally  grounded. 
The  rest  of  the  fleet  had  been  driven  back 
meantime,  and  rather  than  surrender,  Boisot 
and  three  hundred  men  threw  themselves  into 
the  sea.  A  few  escaped,  but  the  gallant  admi- 
ral at  last  perished  in  the  waves.  Zierickzee 
was  forced  to  surrender,  and  was  permitted  hon- 
orable terms.  "  Had  we  received  the  least  suc- 
cor in  the  world  .from  any  side,"  said  the  prince, 
16  the  poor  city  should  never  have  fallen.  I 
could  get  nothing  from  France  or  England, 
with  all  my  efforts.  Nevertheless,  we  do  not 
lose  courage,  but  hope  that,  although  abandoned 
by  all  the  world,  the  Lord  God  will  extend  his 
right  hand  over  us." 

And  now,  in  truth,  the  Almighty,  in  whom 
was  his  people's  trust,  was  about  to  turn  to 


CAPTURE    OF  SCHOUWEN.  2>11 

foolishness  the  counsel  of  their  enemies.  No 
sooner  had  the  Spaniards  gained  Zierickzee, 
than  there  sprang  up  a  mutiny  which  was  des- 
tined speedily  to  deprive  the  victors  of  what 
had  been  so  dearly  won.  Some  months  previ- 
ous, and  while  the  siege  of  Zierickzee  was  still 
going  on,  two  other  events  had  occurred  which 
were  to  have  a  very  important  bearing  on  the 
future  course  of  Netherland  affairs.  One  was 
the  formal  renunciation  of  allegiance  to  Philip, 
by  the  two  provinces  of  Holland  and  Zealand. 
The  other  was  the  sudden  death  of  Requesens, 
March  5th,  1576,  after  an  illness  of  only  four 
days.  Of  course  there  was  no  successor  at  hand 
to  assume  the  vacant  place  of  the  grand  com- 
mander, and  as  the  king  was  not  prepared  to 
appoint  one  upon  short  notice,  matters  were 
left  much  to  themselves  for  a  time,  in  the  course 
of  which  many  changes  occurred  in  the  nomi- 
nally obedient  provinces. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE    "ANTWERP    FURY." 

HE  Spanish  troops  were  very  much  in  the 
habit  of  indulging  in  a  mutiny,  as  soon 
Wy  as  a  victory  had  been  won.  Generally 
their  pay  was  in  arrears,  and  they  took 
that  time  to  demand  it.  They  used  sometimes 
not  merely  to  demand,  but  to  seize  it,  in  some 
form.  Their  mutinies  were  very  systematically 
conducted.  The  first  thing  after  the  outbreak 
was  to  choose  from  their  own  number  a  gov- 
ernor-in-chief, called  the  Eletto,  a  sergeant-ma- 
jor, a  board  of  councilors,  and  various  other 
officers.  Though  the  Eletto  was  nominally  su- 
preme, he  was  obliged  to  share  his  power  largely 
with  his  council  and  the  other  functionaries, 
who  in  their  turn  were  closely  watched  by  the 
common  soldiery.  The  mutiny  was  not  unlike 
a  little  republic,  existing  in  defiance  of  law,  to 

378 


THE    "ANTWERP   FURY."  379 

be  sure,  yet  administered  in  a  most  orderly 
manner.  Generally  the  nearest  city  was  seized, 
the  Eletto  established  himself  in  the  town- 
house,  the  soldiers  occupied  the  private  dwell- 
ings, and  the  terrified  inhabitants  were  forced 
to  feed  and  lodge  the  invaders  like  so  many 
princes.  Nothing  was  too  extravagant  to  be 
demanded,  even  were  it  wine  for  washing  the 
feet  of  their  horses. 

Ordinarily  the  harassed  citizens  were  glad  to 
get  rid  of  their  uninvited  guests  by  paying  them 
a  large  sum  of  money.  Meanwhile  the  proper 
government  of  the  city  was  superseded  by  these 
self-appointed  rulers.  The  Eletto  used  to  read, 
day  by  day,  his  latest  enactments,  from  the  bal- 
cony of  the  townhouse.  If  the  soldiers  ap- 
proved them  they  applauded,  otherwise  they 
hissed.  In  case  the  Eletto  did  not  satisfy  his 
constituents,  they  summarily  removed  him  and 
chose  another  in  his  stead.  These  risings  were 
quite  too  formidable  to  be  quelled,  and  they 
were  almost  never  punished.  After  the  muti- 
neers  had   satiated  themselves   with  riot  and 


380  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

plunder,  they  usually  subsided  into  obedience, 
and  all  went  on  as  before. 

In  the  present  instance  the  mutiny  com- 
menced in  the  usual  way.  After  the  fall  of 
Zierickzee,  which  was  toward  the  end  of  June, 
1575,  the  troops  became  clamorous  for  pay. 
They  had  marched  through  leagues  of  sea  to 
reach  Schouwen  at  first ;  they  had  besieged  its 
capital  for  eight  or  nine  months ;  and  now  that 
the  work  was  done,  they  thought  the  pay  ought 
to  be  forthcoming.  So  most  of  the  leading  offi- 
cers went  to  Brussels  to  see  what  could  be  done 
for  them. 

The  still  unsettled  condition  of  governmental 
affairs  made  this  particularly  difficult.  Though 
it  was  now  three  months  since  the  death  of  Re- 
quesens,  there  had  been  no  successor  appointed. 
The  king  had  merely  sent  word  that  the  gov- 
ernment should  be  administered  in  the  interim 
by  the  council  of  state,  and  then  his  majesty 
had  apparently  fallen  into  a  brown  study. 
Month  after  month  went  by,  but  brought  no 
governor-general.  If  ever  in  Philip's  reign 
there  was  a  crisis  demanding  prompt  action,  it 


THE   "ANTWERP   FURY."  381 

was  this.  Yet  his  deliberations  were  conducted 
in  so  leisurely  a  manner  that  one  might  have 
fancied  he  was  waiting  for  the  future  governor 
to  be  born  and  reared  to  man's  estate. 

Day  after  day  passed,  and  the  mutinous  troops 
at  Zierickzee  grew  more  and  more  impatient. 
Why  should  they  go  ragged  and  hungry,  when 
they  might  help  themselves  ?  Accordingly, 
having  shut  up  the  few  remaining  officers,  and 
laid  hands  on  whatever  plunder  they  could  find 
in  Schouwen,  they  went  off  into  the  province 
of  Brabant.  Either  they  would  menace  Brus- 
sels until  the  council  should  be  frightened  into 
paying  off  their  long  arrears,  or  else  they  would 
seize  upon  some  rich  city,  with  whose  plunder 
they  might  pay  themselves. 

For  a  few  days  they  hovered  about  the  capi- 
tal. They  received  deputations  from  the  state 
council,  but  openly  mocked  at  all  suggestions 
about  the  impropriety  of  their  course.  They 
declared  that  they  were  bound  to  have  money, 
either  by  fair  means  or  foul.  All  of  a  sudden, 
while  both  Brussels  and  Mechlin  lay  trembling 
for  fear  of  them,  the  mutineers  pounced  upon 


382  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

Alost,  a  strong  and  wealthy  city  in  Flanders. 
Having  carried  it  by  storm,  and  butchered  all 
who  dared  to  resist,  they  levied  contributions 
not  only  upon  Alost  itself,  but  also  upon  one 
hundred  neighboring  parishes.  They  num- 
bered two  or  three  thousand,  and  being  thus 
established  in  a  fortified  town,  they  felt  them- 
selves masters  of  the  situation. 

Brussels  looked  for  its  turn  to  come  next. 
The  burghers  rose  as  one  man  to  defend  their 
homes.  On  the  26th  of  July,  they  forced  the 
state  council  to  declare  the  mutineers  outlawed 
as  traitors.  "  All  men  were  enjoined  to  slay 
one  or  all  of  them,  wherever  found,  to  refuse 
them  bread,  water,  and  fire,  and  to  assemble  at 
sound  of  bell  in  every  city,  whenever  the  mag- 
istrates should  order  an  assault  upon  them.', 

The  indignation  against  the  mutineers  soon 
rose  to  include  all  Spaniards  whatever,  whether 
soldiers  or  civil  officers.  Most  men  wanted  the 
whole  army  to  be  outlawed  without  ceremony, 
as  the  speediest  way  to  get  rid  of  them.  As  if 
to  make  a  bad  matter  worse,  the  Marquis  Havre 
arrived  from  Madrid,  on  the  last  day  of  July, 


THE  " ANTWERP   FURY."  383 

bringing  word  from  the  king  that  the  council 
of  state  was  to  administer  affairs  for  some  time 
longer.  This  amounted  to  decreeing  an  anar- 
chy. The  state  council  was  too  weak  to  stand 
alone,  much  less  was  it  able  to  maintain  public 
tranquillity  at  such  a  time  as  this.  People  felt 
that  they  must  take  care  of  themselves. 

As  a  common  fear  and  a  common  hatred  had 
now  united  all  the  Netherlander  against  their 
foreign  oppressors,  the  latter  had  likewise  be- 
come consolidated  in  their  turn.  All  the  Span- 
iards made  common  cause.  Even  those  who 
had  at  first  frowned  upon  the  meeting  now 
joined  hands  with  the  outlawed  mutineers.  By 
the  beginning  of  September,  the  entire  Spanish 
army,  from  highest  to  lowest,  as  well  as  most 
of  the  German  troops,  had  gone  into  the  con- 
spiracy, heart  and  hand. 

A  large  body  of  people,  consisting  of  stu- 
dents, burghers,  and  peasants,  promiscuously 
mingled,  and  led  by  country  gentlemen,  under- 
took to  fight  the  Spaniards,  but  they  were  in- 
stantly routed,  and  two  thousand  of  them  put 
to  the  sword.     Maestricht  attempted  to  expel 


384  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

its  Spanish  garrison,  but  the  affair  ended  in  a 
frightful  massacre,  on  the  20th  of  October. 
Antwerp,  the  great  commercial  metropolis,  the 
most  splendid  city  of  Christendom,  now  saw 
that  its  visitation  was  at  hand. 

The  garrison  of  Antwerp  was  two  or  three 
thousand  strong,  under  command  of  Don  San- 
cho  d'  Avila.  It  was  posted  in  the  renowned 
citadel  which  had  been  erected  by  Alva  ex- 
pressly to  keep  in  subjection  the  turbulent  city. 
Two  of  its  five  sides  commanded  the  town, 
which  was  thus  at  the  mercy  of  the  garrison, 
and  that  garrison  was  in  daily  communication 
with  the  three  thousand  mutineers  of  Alost. 
Within  the  walls  were  some  German  troops, 
but  they  had  already  been  tampered  with. 
Colonel  Van  Ende,  one  of  their  leaders,  had 
secretly  promised  to  desert  to  the  mutineers 
when  the  crisis  should  arrive,  though  the  other, 
Count  Oberstein,  proved  faithful  to  his  charge. 

Antwerp  had  besought  succor  from  Brussels. 
On  the  second  of  November  five  or  six  thousand 
troops,  mostly  natives,  were  sent.  After  some, 
hesitation  on  the  part  of  Champagny,  the  gov- 


THE    "ANTWERP    FURY."  385 

ernor  of  the  city,  who  had  reason  to  doubt  their 
steadfastness,  they  were  finally  admitted  on  Sat- 
urday morning,  the  third  of  November.  Their 
commander,  the  Marquis  de  Havre,  brought  a 
package  of  intercepted  letters  from  Don  San- 
cho  d'  Avila  to  the  mutineers  at  Alost  and  else- 
where, from  which  it  appeared  that  they  were 
all  coming  forthwith  to  join  the  garrison  at  the 
citadel.  There  could  not  be  the  shadow  of  a 
doubt  as  to  what  they  designed  to  do  next. 

It  was  resolved  at  once  to  construct  a  bul- 
wark on  that  side  of  the  city  exposed  to  the 
castle.  There  were  no  miners  or  pioneers,  but 
an  engineer  quickly  drew  the  lines,  and  within 
an  hour  ten  or  twelve  thousand  citizens  of  all 
classes,  both  men  and  women,  were  hard  at 
work  to  construct  a  ditch  and  breastwork  from 
the  gate  of  the  Beguins  to  the  street  of  the  Ab- 
bey St.  Michael.  But  before  night  the  guns  of 
the  castle  began  to  play  upon  them  so  fatally 
that  at  last  neither  citizens  nor  soldiers  dared 
show  their  heads  above  the  slight  rampart. 
Hastily  strengthening  the  weakest  places  with 
boxes  and  bales  of  merchandise,  upturned  carts, 

25 


386  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

or  whatever  came  to  hand,  they  withdrew,  hop- 
ing to  be  able  to  return  and  complete  the  works 
under  cover  of  the  darkness.  All  the  guns  they 
had  were  planted  where  they  would  best  tell  on 
the  castle,  by  Champagny  himself.  But  the 
prospect  of  sustaining  an  attack  was  slight 
indeed. 

At  last  morning  dawned,  —  the  morning  of  a 
day  never  to  be  forgotten  in  Antwerp.  It  was 
Sunday,  the  fourth  of  November,  1576.  A 
dense  fog  hung  low  over  city  and  castle,  but 
through  temporary  rifts  in  its  heavy  masses  the 
anxious  citizens  caught  glimpses  of  troops  mus- 
tering at  the  citadel,  and  the  tramp  of  cavalry 
was  distinctly  heard.  The  forces  within  the 
walls  were  called  to  arms.  Most  of  the  Ger- 
mans were  posted  on  the  various  squares,  while 
the  newly-arrived  Walloons  were  drawn  up  on 
the  side  opposite  the  castle.  The  burghers  too 
were  under'  arms,  at  the  cattle-market  and  the 
exchange. 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  des- 
cried what  seemed  a  moving  forest,  advancing 
toward  the  castle  from  the  south-west.     It  was 


THE   "ANTWERP   FURY."  387 

soon  evident  that  the  mutineers  from  Alost  had 
arrived.  Each  man  wore  in  his  helmet  a  green 
bough.  The  castle  gates  flew  open  at  their  ap- 
proach, and  they  found  a  warm  welcome  from 
their  fellow-conspirators  of  the  garrison.  As 
they  had  marched  twenty-four  miles  since  three 
o'clock  that  morning,  and  much  bloody  work 
was  awaiting  them  in  the  city,  Don  Sancho  or- 
dered a  repast  to  be  spread.  But  the  mutineers 
were  too  impatient  to  eat,  and  only  pausing 
long  enough  to  take  a  draught  of  wine,  they  de- 
manded to  be  led  at  once  to  the  assault.  "  We 
will  sup  in  Antwerp,"  said  they,  "  or  else  in 
Paradise."  The  troops  under  Sancho  d'  Avila, 
Romero,  Vargas,  and  Valdez,  were  no  less  ar- 
dent. Within  an  hour  the  entire  force  sallied 
forth,  leaving  scarcely  men  enough  to  guard  the 
castle  gates. 

But  impatient  as  they  were  to  sack  Antwerp 
and  cut  the  throats  of  its  helpless  thousands, 
they  did  not  forget  to  say  their  prayers.  They 
went  about  their  hellish  work  very  piously,  to 
appearance.  The  Eletto  of  the  Alost  band  car- 
ried a  banner  upon  one  side  of  which  was  em- 

• 


388  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

blazoned  the  Saviour  on  the  cross,  and  upon 
the  other  the  gentle  face  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
In  the  counterscarp,  the  whole  five  thousand 
foot-soldiers,  all  armed  to  the  teeth,  devoutly 
knelt  to  say  a  Pater  noster  or  an  Ave  Maria,  and 
rose  prepared  to  plunge  into  atrocities  almost 
worse  than  infernal. 

The  Eletto  led  three  thousand  of  the  Span- 
iards, with  firm  and  rapid  step,  toward  the 
street  of  Saint  Michael,  while,  the  rest,  under 
Romero,  charged  upon  that  of  Saint  George. 
The  frail  barrier  gave  way  in  an  instant  before 
the  terrible  onset.  The  Walloons  were  seized 
with  an  irresistible  panic,  and  turning  their 
backs,  they  fled  in  wild  confusion.  The  Eletto 
had  fallen  at  the  instant  of  mounting  the  bar- 
rier ;  but  his  fierce  followers  pressed  on  un- 
daunted, and  swept  like  a  torrent  into  the 
street  of  Saint  Michael.  Champagny  did 
everything  one  man  could  do  to  rally  the  fugi- 
tive defenders  of  the  city,  but  all  in  vain. 
Oberstein's  Germans  were  faithful  to  the  last, 
and  died  with  their  faces  to  the  foe.  But  the 
treacherous   Van    Ende    and   his   men  joined 


THE    "ANTWERP    FURY."  389 

Yargas  and  his  cavaliers  the  moment  they  ap- 
peared, nothing  loth  to  share  in  the  massacre 
of  those  they  had  been  sent  to  defend. 

Champagny  meanwhile  flew  hither  and  thith- 
er, making  desperate  efforts  to  rally  the  scat- 
tered troops  and  take  a  stand  against  the  ene- 
my. He  shouted  to  the  burghers  to  rise  and 
defend  their  hearthstones,  and  they  fought 
bravely,  as  men  will  fight  for  their  homes  and 
children  ;  but  it  was  only  to  fall  at  last.  Every- 
where was  confusion  and  dismay,  panic  and 
slaughter.  Every  street  and  alley  had  its  pools 
of  blood,  its  ghastly  heaps  of  slain. 

All  through  the  short  November  day  the  bat- 
tle raged,  from  one  end  of  the  city  to  the  other. 
On  the  splendid  Place  de  Meer — where  a  few 
years  before  William  of  Orange  had  calmed 
the  angry  rioters  by  his  majestic  presence  and 
his  words  of  wisdom  —  there  was  now  a  deadly 
strife,  and  the  marble  pavement  of  the  magni- 
ficent exchange,  where  five  thousand  merchants 
used  daily  to  assemble,  streamed  with  blood. 
At  last  the  closing  scene  of  the  battle  was  en- 
acted ill  the  Grande  Place,  the  irregular  square 


390  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

on  which  stood  the  stately  Hotel  de  Ville,  or 
townhouse,  and  the  richly  decorated  houses 
of  the  various  guilds.  It  was  a  terrible  fight. 
Every  building  became  a  fortress ;  from  every 
window  a  deadly  fire  was  poured  into  the  square 
below.  It  was  not  easy  to  storm  those  massive 
palaces  ;  but  combustibles  were  brought  to  set 
them  on  fire.  The  Hotel  de  Ville  was  soon  in 
a  blaze.  Many  wretched  citizens  perished  within 
its  burning  walls.  From  house  to  house,  from 
street  to  street,  the  fire  swept  on,  until  nearly  a 
thousand  buildings  were  in  flames.  From 
the  rear  of  the  townhouse  down  to  the  river 
side  was  one  immense  conflagration. 

Just  behind  the  townhouse  ran  a  street 
called  the  Canal  au  Sucre.  Here,  amid  the 
lurid  glare  which  lit  up  that  awful  night,  the 
margrave,  the  burgomaster,  senators,  burghers, 
and  a  few  surviving  German  soldiers,  made 
their  last  stand.  They  fought  with  the  des- 
perate courage  of  men  who  have  no  more  to 
lose,  save  only  life.  One  after  another  fell 
those  honored  heads  beneath  the  swords  of 
Spanish    ruffians.     Higher    and    higher   were 


THE   "ANTWERP   FURY:'  391 

piled  the  gory  heaps  of  dead.  The  heroic  mar- 
grave, Goswyn  Yerreyck,  was  the  last  to  perish. 
Not  until  the  burgomaster  lay  dead  at  his  feet, 
and  his  valiant  comrades  had  nearly  all  expired 
before  his  eyes,  did  he  yield  to  his  fate.  Then 
the  struggle  ended.  The  Spaniards  had  won 
their  prey  ;  there  was  no  more  need  of  fighting ; 
they  had  only  to  butcher  helpless  victims 
wherever  they  liked. 

Champagny  had  rested  his  last  hope  on  the 
cavalry  of  the  states,  and  after  that  had  been 
routed  by  the  Spanish  dragoons,  he  escaped  to 
the  fleet  of  Orange,  lying  in  the  Scheld. 
Havre,  too,  fled;  but  Oberstein,  missing  his 
foothold  as  he  tried  tq  spring  into  a  boat,  was 
drowned.  The  massacre  lasted  three  days,  in 
the  course  of  which  eight  thousand  human  be- 
ings were  murdered.  The  Spaniards  swept 
through  the  city,  raging  and  ravening  like  so 
many  fiends.  Blood  was  sweet  to  them,  but 
for  the  moment  they  craved  gold  even  more. 
Everything  else  was  postponed  till  the  plunder 
was  secured.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  pillage 
the  warehouses  and  strong  boxes  of  the  mer- 


392  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

chants,  to  gather  heaps  of  silks  and  laces,  jew- 
els and  gold.  But  in  order  to  discover  the 
secret  hoards  of  private  wealth,  the  marauders 
perpetually  resorted  to  some  infernal  expedient 
of  torture. 

The  following  incident  is  related  by  the  his- 
torian Hoofd.  The  lady  concerned  was  the 
grandmother  of  his  own  wife.  We  give  the 
anecdote  in  the  words  of  Motley. 

"  A  gentlewoman  named  Fabry,  with  her 
aged  mother  and  other  females  of  the*  family" 
had  taken  refuge  in  the  cellar  of  her  mansion. 
As  the  day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  a  band  of 
plunderers  entered,  who  after  ransacking  the 
house  descended  to  the  cellarage.  Finding 
the  door  barred,  they  forced  it  open  with  gun- 
powder. The  mother,  who  was  nearest  the  en- 
trance, fell  dead  on  the  threshold.  Stepping 
across  her  mangled  body,  the  brigands  sprang 
upon  her  daughter,  loudly  demanding  the  pro- 
perty which  they  believed  to  be  concealed. 
They  likewise  insisted  on  being  informed  where 
the  master  of  the  house  had  taken  refuge. 
Protestations  of  ignorance  as  to   hidden  treas- 


THE    "ANTWERP   FURY."  393 

ure,  or  the  whereabouts  of  her  husband,  who, 
for  aught  she  knew,  was  lying  dead  in  the 
street,  were  of  no  avail.  To  make  her  more 
communicative,  they  hanged  her  on  a  beam  in 
the  cellar,  and  after  a  few  moments  cut  her 
down  before  life  was  extinct.  Still  receiving 
no  satisfactory  reply,  where  a  satisfactory  reply 
was  impossible,  they  hanged  her  again.  Again, 
after  another  brief  interval,  they  gave  her  a 
second  release,  and  a  fresh  interrogatory.  This 
barbarity  they  repeated  several  times,  till  they 
were  satisfied  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
gained  by  it,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  were 
losing  much  valuable  time.  Hoping  to  be  more 
successful  elsewhere,  they  left  her  hanging  for 
the  last  time,  and  trooped  off  to  fresher  fields. 
Strange  to  relate,  the  person  thus  horribly  tor- 
tured survived.  A  servant  in  her  family, 
married  to  a  Spanish  soldier,  providentially  en- 
tered the  house  in  time  to  rescue  her  perishing 
mistress.  She  was  restored  to  existence,  but 
never  to  reason.  Her  brain  was  hopelessly 
crazed,  and  she  passed  the  remainder  of  her 
life  wandering  about  her  house,  or  feebly  dig- 


394  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

ging  in  her  garden  for  the  buried  treasure  which 
she  had  been  thus  fiercely  solicited  to  reveal." 

It  is  related  that  a  beautiful  young  bride,  of  an 
opulent  family,  was  snatched  from  the  wedding 
banquet  at  that  moment  in  progress,  and  hav- 
ing seen  her  bridegroom,  her  mother,  her 
guests,  and  at  last  her  venerable  father,  slaugh- 
tered before  her  eyes,  was  carried  off  to  the 
fortress.  Being  left  alone  by  her  captor,  who 
was  plundering  still,  she  tried  to  hang  herself 
with  a  massive  gold  chain  which  she  wore. 
But  he  returned  at  that  moment,  to  secure  her 
costly  ornaments.  Then  causing  her  to  be 
stripped,  and  scourged  with  rods  till  she  was 
covered  with  blood,  he  sent  her  back  thus  to 
the  city,  where,  almost  frantic  with  her  mis- 
ery, she  strayed  about  in  the  blazing  ruins 
among  the  heaps  of  dead,  until  some  soldiers 
put  an  end  to  her  life. 

There  was  no  possible  cruelty  or  outrage  which 
the  soldiers  forbore  to  commit  during  those 
three  terrible  days.  They  seemed  possessed  by 
the  very  demons  of  hell.  From  that  day  to 
this,  the  sack  of  Antwerp  has  been  significantly 


THE   "ANTWERP   FURY."  395 

called  "  The  Spanish  Fury."  Not  less  than 
eight  thousand  persons  were  put  to  death. 
Two  thousand  five  hundred  corpses  were  actu- 
ally counted  in  the  streets  after  the  massacre 
ceased  ;  as  many  more  were  estimated  to  have 
perished  in  the  Scheld  ;  and  undoubtedly  two  or 
three  thousand  others  were  burned  or  other- 
wise destroyed.  The  conflagration  consumed 
property  to  the  value  of  five  or  six  millions, 
and  as  much  more  was  seized  by  the  Spaniards. 
They  robbed  foreign  residents,  and  even  eccle- 
siastics of  the  Roman  church,  as  freely  as  the 
Antwerp  burghers.  They  liberated  from  the 
city  prison,  for  a  sufficient  ransom,  even  rob- 
bers and  murderers,  —  sensible,  perhaps,  that 
such  criminals  alone  were  fit  companions  for 
themselves. 

Ten  years  before,  the  image-breaking  at  Ant- 
werp had  horrified  not  only  Philip,  but  all  the 
Roman  Catholic  world.  But  now  that  almost 
as  many  human  beings  had  been  destroyed  as 
there  were  statues  broken  then,  it  was  quite 
another  thing.  "  1  wish  your  majesty  much 
good  of  this  victory,"  wrote  Jerome  de  Roda  to 


396  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

the  most  Catholic  King  of  Spain  ;  "  'tis  a  very 
great  one,  and  the  damage  to  the  city  is  enor- 
mous." Thus,  amid  mutual  congratulations 
and  compliments,  the  perpetrators  of  such 
infernal  crimes  complacently  washed  their 
bloody  hands,  and  said,  "  We  have  done  no 
dness." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE    GHENT   PACIFICATION. 

'ILLIAM  of  Orange  had  been  prompt  to 
turn  to  good  account  the  interim  follow- 
%*$f  iug  the  deatli  of  Requesens.  While 
affairs  were  thus  unsettled,  he  was  ear- 
nestly laboring  to  unite  all  the  provinces  against 
the  common  foe.  For  the  last  few  years,  Hol- 
land and  Zealand  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the 
battle.  The  other  provinces  had  been  some- 
times completely  overawed  by  Alva  ;  but  these 
two  had  never  ceased  to  struggle  and  to  fight. 
They  alone  had  formally  renounced  their  alle- 
giance to  the  Spanish  crown.  The  prince  was 
not  disposed  to  urge  this  step  upon  any  who 
were  not  yet  prepared  to  take  it ;  yet  lie  thought 
it  of  the  utmost  importance  to  have  all  the 
provinces  go  hand  in  hand  as  far  as  they  could. 
To  a  certain  extent,  indeed,  there  was  perfect 

397 


398  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

sympathy  between  these  two  states  and  the 
other  fifteen.  In  all  there  was  a  deeply-rooted 
attachment  to  the  ancient  charters,  so  trampled 
upon  of  late  by  the  government.  Few  men 
conld  be  found  in  the  Netherlands  who  did  not 
long  to  see  the  old  privileges  restored,  —  who 
would  not  risk  and  suffer  much  for  their  sake. 
There  were  fewer  still  who  did  not  abhor  the 
foreign  soldiery,  by  whose  aid  despotism  had 
been  upheld  so  long. 

Yet  only  Holland  and  Zealand  were  wholly 
devoted  to  the  reformed  faith.  Though  there 
were  many  Protestants  in  the  other  provinces, 
there  were  more  Papists,  and  during  the  last 
few  years  the  Roman  church  had  been  regain- 
ing something  of  her  former  power.  So  many 
Protestant  families  had  been  exterminated  or 
banished  during  the  terrible  persecutions,  and 
so  strong  was  the  immediate  authority  and 
presence  of  the  court  and  the  governor-general 
in  the  southern  states,  that  this  fact  is  not  very 
surprising.  Nor  is  the  influence  of  race  to  be 
forgotten.  In  the  southern  provinces  there 
was  a   strong   predominance  of  Celtic  blood. 


THE    GHENT   PACIFICATION.  399 

The  people,  by  nature  ardent  and  impressible, 
were  keenly  susceptible  to  whatever  was  grand 
and  imposing  in  the  pompous  ritual  of  Rome. 
In  the  northern  states,  on  the  other  hand,  — 
particularly  in  Holland  and  Zealand,  —  there 
was  more  of  the  German  character.  The  Hol- 
landers were  less  fiery  than  their  southern 
kinsmen,  but  more  steadfast,  —  less  impulsive, 
but  more  thoughtful,  —  less  demonstrative,  but 
more  deep.  They  had  not  lightly  entered  the 
contest,  and,  once  engaged,  they  were  not  the 
men  to  draw  back.  Perhaps  they  discerned,  as 
others  did  not,  that  spiritual  despotism  is  the 
mortal  foe  of  civil  liberty.  When  the  con- 
science tamely  wears  fetters,  it  is  but  natural 
that  the  hands  should  accept  them  too. 

The  prince  hoped,  however,  to  unite  all  the 
provinces  on  the  basis  of  a  large  religious  tol- 
eration, with  a  representative  government  un- 
der a  hereditary  chief,  as  of  old.  At  present, 
the  strongest  mutual  bond  was  their  common 
detestation  of  the  foreign  soldiery.  "  Upon 
this  deeply-imbedded,  immovable  fulcrum  of  an 
ancient    national   hatred,"   says   Motley,  "  the 


400  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

sudden  mutiny  of  the  whole  Spanish  army 
served  as  a  lever  of  incalculable  power.  The 
prince  seized  it  as  from  the  hand  of  God.  Thus 
armed,  he  proposed  to  himself  the  task  of  up- 
turning the  mass  of  oppression  under  which  the 
old  liberties  of  the  country  had  so  long  been 
crushed." 

Accordingly,  during  the  eventful  summer  of 
1576,  while  Philip  was  leisurely  considering 
upon  whom  to  bestow  the  vacant  office  of  gov- 
ernor, the  prince  was  eloquently  and  incessantly 
urging  upon  all  the  provinces  the  necessity  of 
a  close  union  against  their  common  foe. 
"  Nothing  remains  to  us,"  said  he,  "  but  to  dis- 
card all  jealousy  and  distrust.  Let  us,  with  a 
firm  resolution  and  a  common  accord,  liberate 
these  lands  from  the  stranger.  Hand  to  hand, 
let  us  accomplish  a  just  and  general  peace.  As 
for  myself,  I  present  to  you,  with  very  good 
affection,  my  person  and  all  which  I  possess, 
assuring  you  that  I  shall  regard  all  my  labors 
and  pains,  in  times  which  are  past,  well  be- 
stowed, if  God  will  grant  me  grace  to  see  the 
desired  end." 


THE    GHENT   PACIFICATION.  401 

Early  in  the  autumn,  in  consequence  of  his 
powerful  appeals,  most  of  the  provinces  sent 
deputies  to  confer  with  those  of  Holland  and 
Zealand  at  Ghent.  By  the  middle  of  October 
a  great  number  of  the  delegates  were  already 
assembled  at  the  place  of  meeting.  The  cita- 
del of  Ghent  was  stilly  occupied  by  Spanish 
troops  ;  but  the  garrison  was  not  large,  and  the 
states  laid  siege  to  it,  with  the  help  of  forces 
sent  by  Orange.  Meanwhile  the  horrible  mas- 
sacre occurred  at  Antwerp.  It  served  to  hasten 
the  movements  of  both  deputies  and  besiegers 
at  Ghent.  On  the  8th  of  November,  while  the 
smoke  of  ruined  Antwerp  was  still  going  up  to 
heaven,  and  her  streets  still  reeked  with  the 
blood  of  her  slain,  was  signed  the  celebrated 
treaty  called  the  Pacification  of  Ghent,  by 
which  all  the  seventeen  provinces  were  united 
to  expel  the  foreign  troops.  By  a  happy  co- 
incidence, the  castle  of  Ghent  surrendered  to 
the  states  on  that  very  day. 

This  treaty  was  much  more  than  could  have 
been  expected,  if  it  was  not  all  that  might  have 
been    desired.     It  was  much    that   the   fifteen 

26 


402  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

provinces,  of  whose  population  a  majority  were 
Catholics,  should  have  joined  hands  with  the 
two  heretic  states  at  all.  For  those  times,  it 
was  a  great  step  to  recognize  "  the  new  reli- 
gion "  as  the  established  creed  of  a  certain  por- 
tion of  the  Netherlands,  and  to  promise  that  it 
should  be  silently  tolerated  in  the  other  states. 
There  was  to  be  no  more  religious  persecution 
on  either  side,  the  edicts  and  the  inquisition 
were  to  be  suppressed,  and  the  entire  nation 
was  to  do  its  utmost  to  drive  the  foreign  invad- 
ers from  the  soil. 

Still  another  auspicious  event  occurred  in  the 
beginning  of  November,  to  increase  the  satis- 
faction of  patriotic  hearts.  The  island  of  Schou- 
wen  and  its  capital,  so  dearly  won  by  the  Span- 
iards not  many  months  before,  was  recovered 
by  Count  Hohenlo,  lieutenant-general  of  the 
prince.  The  mutineers  liad  left  Zierickzee 
without  any  garrison,  and  the  few  officers  were 
forced  to  abandon  it,  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  union  of  the  Netherland  states  against 
their  common  foe  was  not  completed  a  day  too 
soon.      Even   before   the   treaty   was   actually 


THE    GHENT  PACIFICATION.  403 

signed,  the  new  governor-general  had  entered 
the  provinces.  "  Five  days  before  the  publica- 
tion-of  the  Ghent  treaty,"  says  Motley,  "  a  for- 
eign cavalier,  attended  by  a  Moorish  slave  and 
sis.  men-at-arms,  rode  into  the  streets  of  Lux- 
emburg. The  cavalier  was  Don  Ottavio  Gon- 
zaga,  brother  of  the  Prince  of  Melfi.  The 
Moorish  slave  was  Don  John  of  Austria,  the  son 
of  the  emperor,  the  conqueror  of  Granada,  the 
hero  of  Lepanto.  The  new  governor-general 
had  traversed  Spain  and  France  in  this  disguise, 
with  great  celerity,  and  in  the  romantic  manner 
which  belonged  to  his  character.  He  stood  at 
last  on  the  threshold  of  the  Netherlands,  but, 
with  all  his  speed,  he  had  arrived  a  few  days  too 
late." 

Don  John  of  Austria  was  the  illegitimate  son 
of  Charles  V.,  by  Barbara  Blomberg  of  Ratis- 
bon,  a  woman  of  humble  rank.  The  boy  had 
been  nurtured  in  retirement  by  an  officer  of  the 
imperial  household  until  his  fourteenth  year. 
He  was  then  taken  in  charge  by  his  half-brother, 
Philip  of  Spain,  and  thenceforth  educated  with 
the  prince  royal  —  Don  Carlos  —  and   the  son 


404  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

of  Margaret  of  Parma.  The  three  princes  were 
of  about  the  same  age,  and  Alexander  of  Parma, 
at  least,  was  a  boy  of  much  talent.  But  Don 
John  surpassed  both  his  companions.  He  grew 
up  to  be  a  marvel  of  beauty  and  gracefulness, 
and  his  daring  agility  in  all  youthful  sports  and 
exercises  was  thought  to  betoken  a  brilliant 
career.  It  had  been  designed  to  make  him  an 
ecclesiastic,  but  the  bold,  romantic  youth  had 
no  fancy  for  holy  orders.  At  the  age  of  eight- 
een he  ran  away  to  Barcelona,  intending  to 
join  the  expedition  against  Malta.  The  king 
forbade  the  rash  adventure,  but  no  longer  op- 
posed his  choosing  the  profession  of  arms.  Be- 
fore he  was  twenty-three,  he  had  conducted  a 
most  brilliant  campaign  against  the  insurgent 
Moors  ot  Granada.  He  afterwards  commanded 
the  allied  armies  of  Venice,  Spain,  and  Rome, 
in  the  war  against  the  Turks.  He  was  conspic- 
uous for  his  desperate  valor  in  the  naval  battle 
of  Lepanto,  and  carried  away  a  very  large  share 
of  the  glory  of  that  celebrated  victory. 

Don  John  had  now  reached  his  thirty-second 
year.     Not  content  with  the  fame  of  former  ex- 


THE    GHENT  PACIFICATION.  405 

ploits,  his  head  was  uneasy  for  want  of  a  crown. 
To  win  or  to  found  a  kingdom  was  his  consum- 
ing ambition.  Of  this  he  dreamed  by  night, 
for  this  he  toiled  by  day.  At  present,  his  eyes 
were  fixed  on  the  throne  of  England.  Perhaps 
it  might  be  peaceably  secured  by  marrying 
Queen  Elizabeth,  who  was  understood  to  be  still, 
in  a  sense,  "  in  the  market."  Yet  since  that 
royal  lady  was  indisputably  rather  old  and  ugly, 
the  handsome  young  cavalier  thought  it  would 
be  better  to  conquer  England  by  arms,  depose 
Elizabeth,  marry  the  fair  imprisoned  Queen  of 
Scots,  and  thus  become  sovereign  of  the  whole 
British  isle. 

With  this  romantic  scheme  filling  his  head, 
Don  John  had  come  to  the  Netherlands.  He 
had  readily  accepted  the  office  of  governor-gen- 
eral, because  he  trusted  thus  to  advance  his  pet 
enterprise.  As  there  was  still  something  of  an 
army  in  the  Netherlands,  he  secretly  purposed 
to  settle  matters  there  in  a  trice,  no  matter 
how,  and  then  to  avail  himself  of  the  troops  for 
the  conquest  of  England. 

In  sending  his  young  brother  to  the  Nether- 


406  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

lands,  Philip  had  instructed  him  to  bring  about 
a  reconciliation,  if  possible.  But  he  was  not  in 
any  event  to  yield  an  iota  of  the  royal  suprem- 
acy, nor  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  The 
king  seems  to  have  fancied  that  merely  Don 
John's  wonderful  graces  of  person  would  some- 
how charm  the  rebellious  Netherlanders  into 
the  most  delightful-  submission.  He  was  des- 
tined to  find  himself  signally  mistaken. 

Having  reached  Luxemburg,  on  the  southern 
frontier,  Don  John  dropped  the  garb  of  the 
Moorish  slave,  removed  the  swarthy  stain  which 
had  disguised  his  fair  complexion  and  bright 
curling  hair,  and  stood  forth,  a  splendid  and 
fascinating  cavalier.  "  Such  were  the  beauty 
and  vivacity  of  his  eyes,"  says  a  writer  of  that 
day,  "  that  with  a  single  glance  he  made  all 
hearts  his  own."  His  features  were  fine,  his 
figure  well-proportioned  and  graceful.  His 
bright  luxuriant  hair  was  tossed  back  from  his 
handsome  forehead  in  a  fashion  of  his  own, 
which  became  the  prevailing  mode  wherever  he 
went.     But  gifted  and  accomplished  as  he  was, 


THE    GHENT  PACIFICATION.  407 

Don  John  had  now  undertaken  more  than  he 
was  able  to  do. 

He  had  come  to  the  Netherlands  simply  that 
he  might  make  them  a  stepping-stone  to  the 
throne  of  England.  However  winning  in  out- 
ward appearance,  he  was  altogether  selfish  at 
heart.  His  own  ambitious  schemes  absorbed 
his  thoughts.  He  heartily  disliked  and  despised 
both  the  people  and  the  country.  In  his  pri- 
vate letters  he  declared  that  he  found  himself 
"in  a  Babylon  of  disgusts."  The  people  were 
"  scoundrels,  drunkards,  wine-skins."  He  was 
anxious  to  despatch  matters  in  the  speediest 
manner  possible,  solely  that  he  might  be  re- 
leased from  his  distasteful  mission  and  left  at 
liberty  to  pursue  the  darling  scheme  of  his 
heart.  Tims,  having  no  genuine  interest  or 
definite  purposes  in  regard  to  Netherland  af- 
fairs, —  except  to  get  them  off  his  hands  as 
soon  as  possible,  —  his  course  was  ever  vacillat- 
ing and  inconsistent.  He  might  flatter  to-day, 
and  threaten  to-morrow,  yet  finally  yield. 

At  Luxemburg  Don  John  received  the  dep- 
uties of  the  states-general,  who  laid  before  him 


408  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

in  writing  certain  demands  and  concessions. 
William  of  Orange  had  most  earnestly  warned 
them  not  to  be  cajoled  by  flatteries,  but  to  in- 
sist on  their  constitutional  rights.  They  ac- 
cordingly demanded,  first  of  all,  the  immediate 
and  unconditional  departure  of  the  foreign 
troops.  Furthermore,  all  prisoners  were  to  be 
released,  the  recent  treaty  of  Ghent  recognized, 
a  general  amnesty  proclaimed,  and  the  states- 
general  convoked.  Finally,  Don  John  must 
solemnly  swear  to  maintain  all  the  charters  and 
customs  of  the  land.  On  these  conditions, 
they  would  accept  his  authority,  would  main- 
tain the  established  church,  disband  their  own 
foreign  troops,  and  provide  his  excellency  with 
a  body-guard  of  native  Netherlanders. 

Don  John  at  first  undertook  to  stand  upon 
his  dignity,  and  was  not  in  haste  to  concede 
what  had  been  asked.  He  was  disposed  to  de- 
bate, to  quibble,  to  object.  The  deputies  soon 
discovered  that  for  some  secret  reason  the  gov- 
ernor-general was  particularly  set  upon  sending 
away  the  troops  by  sea,  if  he  let  them  depart 
at  all.     They  had  no  idea  why  it  was,  but  they 


THE    GHENT  PACIFICATION.  409 

instantly  resolved  to  thwart  him  on  that  point. 
It  soon  appeared  that  the  troops  themselves  had 
been  tampered  with,  for  the  officers  were  as  full 
of  objections  to  a  land  journey  as  was  Don 
John.  This  made  the  estates  only  the  more 
determined  that  they  should  go  by  land,  at  all 
hazards.  As  -to  the  Ghent  Pacification,  about 
which  Don  John  had  expressed  doubts,  they 
consulted  the  professors  of  Louvain,  the  eccle- 
siastics of  the  Netherlands,  and  the  state  coun- 
cil, all  which  authorities  pronounced  that  the 
said  treaty  contained  nothing  against  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Romish  religion,  or  that  of  the 
king.  Armed  with  these  weighty,  though  not 
to  our  view  very  candid  decisions,  they  hoped 
ultimately  to  bring  Don  John  to  terms. 

By  way  of  fortifying  the  Ghent  treaty,  an- 
other agreement,  called  the  "  Union  of  Brus- 
sels," was  drawn  up  early  in  January,  1577. 
As  this  was  signed  by  nearly  all  the  leading 
individuals  in  each  province,  it  exhibited  very 
clearly  the  entire  sympathy  of  the  people  with 
the  views  of  their  deputies  in  forming  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  which  they  thus  bound  themselves  to 


410  WILLIAM   THE  SILENT. 

maintain.  Its  present  effect  was  to  unite  more 
closely  all  true  Netherlander  in  the  work  of 
expelling  foreign  invaders,  and  doubtlQss  so  im- 
posing a  demonstration  of  popular  sentiment 
had  some  weight  in  the  mind  of  Don  John 
himself. 

Meanwhile,  that  dignitary,  though  not  yet  re- 
ceived as  governor-general,  had  advanced  from 
Luxemburg  to  Huy,  where  he  met  a  fresh  em- 
bassy from  the  states.  The  envoys  bluntly  put 
the  question  whether  he  would  maintain  the 
treaty  of  Ghent  entire,  and  dismiss  his  troops, 
by  land,  forthwith.  Don  John's  reply  was  com- 
pendiously expressed  in  twenty-seven  articles, 
which,  whatever  else  they  answered,  did  not 
answer  those  questions  at  all.  Being  cornered 
by  the  persistent  deputies,  he  finally  said,  No. 
Upon  this,  both  parties  grew  wrathful,  and 
blustered  loudly  at  each  other,  until  from  words 
they  almost  came  to  blows.  But  in  the  course 
of  the  night,  Don  John's  anger  had  time  to 
cool  off  a  little.  He  began  to  recede  from 
his  defiant  attitude  of  the  previous  evening. 
Before  the  deputies  left  for  Brussels,  he  had 


THE    GHENT  PACIFICATION.  411 

virtually  admitted  the  Ghent  treaty.  Not  long 
afterwards,  he  was  still  further  persuaded  —  by 
the  envoys  of  the  emperor  of  Germany,  Ru- 
dolph II.  —  to  abandon  for  the  time  the  pro- 
ject nearest  his  heart,  and  send  away  the  troops 
by  land. 

In  February,  1577,  accordingly,  the  memora- 
ble treaty  called  the  perpetual  edict  was  signed, 
by  which  Don  John  conceded  everything  which 
had  been  demanded  by  the  estates.  On  their 
part,  they  agreed  to  receive  him  as  governor- 
general,  as  soon  as  the  Spanish,  Italian,  and 
Burgundian  troops  should  have  left  the  prov- 
inces. They  were  to  take  an  oath  to  uphold 
the  Catholic  religion,  to  disband  their  own 
troops,  and  to  restore  the  citadels  to  his  ma- 
jesty. 

For  a  brief  period,  the  people  of  most  of  the 
Netherland  states  fancied  all  their  troubles 
ended.  But  the  perpetual  edict  was  far  from 
contenting  the  Prince  of  Orange.  He  discerned 
but  too  clearly  the  tendency  of  that  agreement. 
He  well  knew  the  bottomless  duplicity  of  the 
Spanish  government.     It?  had  ever  been  more 


412  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

ready  to  make  promises  than  scrupulous  to 
keep  tliem.  Of  late,  many  letters  had  been  in- 
tercepted on  their  way  between  Philip  and  Don 
John,  which  furnished  abundant  reason  for 
doubting  the  good  faith  of  those  eminent  per- 
sonages in  the  late  transaction.  Moreover,  the 
perpetual  edict  could  never  be  accepted  by 
Holland  and  Zealand,  on  account  of  the  pledge 
it  required  in  favor  of  the  Roman  Catholic  re- 
ligion. These  two  Protestant  states,  therefore, 
would  be  once  more  cut  off  from  the  fellowship 
which  the  fifteen  sister  provinces  had  lately 
pledged  to  them  at  Ghent.  Consequently  the 
prince  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it, 
in  behalf  of  his  own  two  provinces,  unless,  in- 
deed, the  other  fifteen  would  condition  their 
recognition  of  Don  John  as  governor-general 
upon  the  actual  departure  of  the  Spaniards 
within  the  stipulated  forty  days,  in  default  of 
which  they  should  expel  them  by  arms. 

Don  John  was  not  a  little  worried  by  the 
present  attitude  of  Orange,  and  spared  no  pains 
to  win  so  influential  a  personage  to  his  side. 
He  had  already  learned  how  boundless  was  the 


THE    GHENT   PACIFICATION.  413 

authority  of  "Father  William"  —  as  the  peo- 
ple affectionately  termed  him  —  in  Holland  and 
Zealand.  He,  and  he  alone,  could  win  back 
those  provinces  to  their  allegiance,  if  he  chose. 
Don  John  sent  private  envoys  to  confer  with 
him.  He  wrote  himself;  he  promised  every- 
thing that  could  be  desired  for  himself  or  his 
house  ;  lie  left  no  bribe  untried.  "  You  can  not 
imagine,"  said  he,  "  how  much  it  will  be  in  my 
power  to  do  for  you." 

But  these  were  not  the  arguments  which 
could  move  that  lofty  soul.  No  doubt  it  would 
have  been  pleasant  to  be  again  surrounded  by 
pomp  and  splendor,  to  be  high  in  favor  at  court. 
But  to  William  the  Silent  it  seemed  a  boon  far 
more  precious  to  have  his  oppressed  country 
set  free.  The  welfare  of  his  people  had  ever 
been  dearer  to  him  than  his  own.  "  I  have  al- 
ways put  my  personal  interests  under  my  feet," 
he  said, "  and  thus  am  I  resolved  still  to  do,  so 
long  as  life  remains." 


/ 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

UNEXPE  CTED    MO  VEMENTS. 

ON  JOHN  was  now  at  Louvain,  exerting 
his  remarkable  powers  of  fascination  to 
the  utmost,  in  order  to  win  a  people  whom 
in  his  heart  he  hated  and  despised.  In 
the  latter  part  of  April,  the  Spanish  soldiery 
departed,  according  to  agreement,  and  the  re- 
joicing populace  fancied  themselves  at  last  free. 
On  the  first  day  of  May,  1577,  Don  John  made 
a  triumphal  entrance  into  Brussels,  amid  great 
pomp  and  festivity.  Three  days  afterwards,  he 
took  the  usual  oaths  of  office  at  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  and  assumed  the  position  of  governor- 
general. 

But  the  magnificent  personage  now  at  the 
head  of  .the  Netherland  government  was  a 
grievously  disappointed  -'man,  after  all.  With 
the  departing  banners  of  the  Spanish  army  had 

414 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  415 

vanished  the  dearest  dream  of  his  ambitious 
heart.  The  very  thing  for  the  sake  of  which 
he  had  come  to  the  Low  Countries  was  now 
out  of  his  reach.  Without  troops,  how  could 
he  conquer  England  ?  "  You  are  aware," 
wrote  his  secretary,  Escovedo,  —  who  shared 
deeply  in  these  romantic  aspirations,  —  to  An- 
tonio Perez,  "  you  are  aware  that  a  throne  —  a 
chair  with  a  canopy  —  is  our  intention  and  our 
appetite,  and  all  the  rest  is  good  for  nothing. 
Having  failed  in  our  scheme,  we  are  desperate 
and  like  madmen.     All  is  now  weariness  and 

death Ah,  Sen  or  Antonio  Perez,  what 

terrible  pertinacity  have  these  devils  shown  in 
making  us  give  up  our  plot !  " 

Gladly  would  Don  John  have  quitted  the 
Netherlands,  even  before  his  inauguration,  if 
the  king  would  have  allowed  him  to  do  so.  In 
truth,  he  was  sorely  tempted  to  renounce  his 
office  at  all  hazards.  The  position  was  not 
suited  to  his  taste.  He  liked  to  make  war  out 
and  out,  not  to  fret  away  his  life  in  political 
squabbles.  He  felt  that  some  woman  —  for 
instance  his  sister  Margaret,  the  former  regent, 


416  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

or  perhaps  the  duchess  of  Lorraine  —  would  be 
better  adapted  to  the  place  than  himself. 
"  There  is  but  one  man  in  the  Netherlands," 
wrote  he  to  the  king,  "  and  he  is  called  the 
Prince  of  Orange.  The  people  are  fairly  be- 
witched by  him  ;  they  love  him,  they  fear  him, 
they  go  to  him  with  all  their  affairs,  and  noth- 
ing is  done  but  the  prince  is  at  the  bottom  of 
it."  As  for  himself,  he  candidly  declared  that 
the  people  were  beginning  to  abhor  him,  and 
that  he  abhorred  them  already. 

The  young  governor-general  soon  began  to 
suspect  that  a  plot  was  on  foot  to  imprison  or 
assassinate  him.  He  had  no  positive  proofs  of 
such  a  design ;  but  since  he  and  Escovedo  were 
trying  to  compass  the  destruction  of  the  prince, 
it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  be  ill  at 
ease.  One  night,  not  long  after  his  inaugura- 
tion, the  Viscount  de  Gand  came  to  the  bed- 
side of  the  governor,  and,  rousing  him  from  his 
slumber,  he  solemnly  warned  him  to  leave 
Brussels  at  once,  or  his  life  was  not  worth  a 
pin.  Accordingly,  he  removed  to  Mechlin,  only 
to  receive  similar  warnings  there. 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  417 

It  was  in  this  same  city  of  Mechlin  that  Don 
John  had  lately  illustrated  the  manner  in  which 
he  should  observe  the  Pacification  of  Ghent. 
The  odious  Decrees  of  Trent  had  been  once 
more  promulgated,  and  a  poor  tailor,  found 
guilty  of  attending  a  Protestant  meeting,  was 
put  to  death  by  the  orders  and  in  the  presence 
of  his  excellency  himself.  This  renewal  of 
persecutions  did  not  increase  his  popularity. 
Feeling  himself  in  danger  where  he  was,  he 
contrived,  about  midsummer,  to  get  possession 
of  Namur. 

Namur  was  a  very  picturesque  and  opulent 
city,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Sambre 
with  the  Meuse,  not  far  from  the  French  fron- 
tier. It  was  an  important  place,  not  only  on 
account  of  its  location,  but  also  on  account  of 
its  famous  citadel,  which  still,  as  then,  crowns 
an  abrupt  precipice  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
river.  Don  John  had  an  undoubted  right  to 
establish  himself  in  this  renowned  fortress,  as 
well  as  in  any  other  within  his  government. 
But  his  distrust  of  the  Netherlander  led  him 
to  seize  it  by  a  stratagem,  the  consequence  of 

27 


418  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

which  was  that  they  immediately  lost  whatever 
confidence  in  him  they  had  thus  far  retained. 
At  the  same  time  he  undertook  to  get  the 
Antwerp  citadel  also  into  his  own  hands.  In 
this,  however,  he  signally  failed,  and  the  at- 
tempt resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  all  the  Ger- 
man troops  remaining  in  Antwerp.  The  fort- 
ress was  occupied  by  the  patriots,  and  soon 
after  they  leveled  that  side  commanding  the 
city  to  the  ground. 

From  his  fortress  of  Namur  Don  John  wrote 
many  letters  to  the  estates,  in  which  he  made 
bold  to  justify  his  course.  But  it  was  now  very 
clear  to  them  that  their  valiant  and  accom- 
plished governor  was  not  to  be  trusted.  On 
the  other  hand,  that  personage  pronounced  the 
Netherlanders  a  most  perverse  and  thankless 
people.  Considering  all  the  benefits  received 
from  Alva  and  his  Blood  Council,  considering 
the  recent  "  Spanish  Fury,"  as  well  as  all  the 
other  massacres  and  sieges  with  which  the 
country  had  been  favored  by  Philip  during  the 
last  ten  years,  perhaps  they  were.  "  Little 
profit  there  has  been,  or  is  like  to  be,"  patheti- 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  419 

cally  remarked  Don  John  in  writing  to  his  sis- 
ter, the  empress-dowager,  "  from  all  the  good 
which  we  have  done  to  this  bad  people." 

These  bad  people,  however,  had  recently 
shown  themselves  not  incapable  of  gratitude, 
after  all.  Not  long  before,  the  Prince  of  Or- 
ange had  made  a  tour  through  the  two  pro- 
vinces which  he  governed,  at  the  request  of  the 
people  themselves.  Though  they  could  not 
indulge  themselves  in  any  great  parade  on  the 
occasion,  they  gave  him  the  more  precious 
homage  of  devoted  hearts.  Everybody  hailed 
him  with  the  dear  title  of  "  Father  William  ;  * 
they  crowded  around  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  his 
beloved  face,  perchance  to  hear  him  speak,  or, 
better  still,  to  press  the  faithful  hand  so  frankly 
offered  to  them  all.  However  it  seemed  to  Don 
John,  the  prince  did  not  find  his  people  un- 
grateful. 

Now  that  the  governor-general  had  shut  him- 
self up  at  Namur,  the  prince  was  formally  and 
earnestly  invited  to  visit  Brussels.  He  had  not 
been  in  that  city  since  his  departure  to  Germany 
eleven  years  before,  though  he  had  been  sol- 


420  WILLIAM   THE  SILENT. 

emnly  summoned  thither  by  the  Council  of 
Blood,  in  its  day,  and  condemned  for  non-ap- 
pearance. It  was  in  a  different  manner  that 
he  was  coming  now.  He  was  not  to  be  accused 
as  a  traitor,  but  hailed  as  the  protector  and 
father  of  the  nation.  Even  certain  of  the  great 
nobles,  who  were  not  only  hostile  to  the  Pro- 
testant faith,  but  also  jealous  of  him  personally, 
had  felt  constrained  to  join  in  the  request  that 
the  prince  would  come  to  Brussels. 

William  would  not  promise  to  do  so  without 
first  consulting  his  own  two  provinces.  They 
were  reluctant  to  have  him  go,  yet  did  not  re- 
fuse their  consent.  Throughout  Holland  and 
Zealand,  however,  public  prayers  were  daily 
offered  for  his  safe  return.  On  the  17th  of 
September,  he  was  received  at  Antwerp  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm.  After  a  few  days,  he 
proceeded  thence  to  Brussels,  a  large  part  of 
whose  population  came  out  several  miles  to 
meet  him.  Whoever  else  might  prove  false, 
they  knew  that  he  was  a  true  Triend. 

The  estates  desired  his  advice  about  the  ne- 
gotiations then  in  progress  with  their  governor- 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  421 

general  at  Namur,  whose  tone  had  become 
more  amicable  of  late.  But  Orange  was  not 
the  man  to  prefer  an  unworthy  peace  to  a 
righteous  war ;  nor  would  he  give  his  voice  in 
favor  of  a  treaty  that  sacrificed  civil  or  reli- 
gious liberty.  It  was  not  long  before  the  quar- 
rel between  the  states  and  Don  John  came  to 
actual  hostilities ;  but  in  the  mean  time  some 
other  important  events  occurred,  which  must 
now  be  related. 

Before  Orange  reached  Brussels,  a  clique  of 
Catholic  nobles  who  were  jealous  of  him  had 
secretly  invited  the  Archduke  Matthias,  the 
young  brother  of  the  Emperor  Rudolph,  to 
come  to  the  Netherlands.  Matthias  was  then  a 
mere  boy  of  twenty,  mild  and  good-natured, — 
which  was  certainly  a  consideration  to  people 
who  had  suffered  so  much  from  cruel  rulers, — 
but  totally  destitute  of  experience,  power,  or 
wealth.  However,  as  they  only  intended  him 
to  be  a  mere  figure-head  to  the  ship  of  state 
rather  than  a  pilot,  an  ornamental  appendage 
of  the  government  he  was  nominally  to  control, 
this  was  no  great  objection.     Orange  had  not 


422  WILLIAM  THE  SILEKT. 

been  consulted  about  this  measure,  although  he 
had  heard  of  it  before  leaving  Holland.  In 
truth,  the  Catholic  party  intended  to  insult  him 
by  bringing  the  beardless  archduke  upon  the 
stage,  in  order  that  he  might  either  retire  in 
disgust,  or,  by  opposing  the  reception  of  Mat- 
thias, provoke  the  anger  of  the  emperor. 

But  instead  of  taking  either  of  the  two 
courses  into  which  his  enemies  expected  to 
drive  him,  the  prince  quietly  adopted  the 
scheme  as  if  it  had  been  his  own  from  the  first, 
and  went  to  meet  the  youthful  Matthias  at  Ant- 
werp at  the  head  of  two  thousand  cavalry  and 
a  vast  multitude  of  citizens.  Instead  of  per- 
mitting the  power  of  the  Catholic  faction  to  be 
multiplied  by  the  annexation  to  it  of  this  cipher 
from  the  imperial  house,  he  prudently  took  pos- 
session of  it  himself.  Matthias  was  easy  to 
manage,  and  under  his  merely  nominal  leader- 
ship William  could  carry  any  given  measure 
just  as  readily  as  without  it.  He  had  previ- 
ously been  chosen  Buward  of  Brabant,  and  re- 
tained that  office  of  almost  dictatorial  power 
even  after  the  young  Matthias  had  been  made, 


UNEXPECTED  MOVEMENTS.  423 

nominally,  the  governor-general.  In  December, 
1577,  the  states  declared  that  Don  John  was 
no  longer  their  ruler  under  the  king,  inasmuch 
as  he  had  violated  his  oaths  of  office.  Matthias 
was  inaugurated  with  great  pomp,  at  Brussels, 
on  the  18th  of  January,  1578.  The  articles 
previously  agreed  upon  between  him  and  the 
states,  however,  had  so  carefully  limited  the 
young  man's  powers  and  functions  that  he  had 
almost  nothing  to  do,  except  to  sign  the  acts  of 
the  estates,  which  were  afterwards  also  coun- 
tersigned by  the  prince.  Indeed,  people  used 
to  speak  of  Matthias  as  the  prince's  clerk. 

This  unexpected  issue  of  their  plot  was  not 
very  gratifying  to  the  Catholic  faction.  Queen 
Elizabeth  had  lately  promised  some  assistance 
to  the  Netherlands ;  but  on  learning  that  the 
young  archduke  was  to  be  governor-general, 
she  declared  that  she  would  not  furnish  a  penny 
for  their  war,  unless  Orange  was  at  once  ap- 
pointed lieutenant-general  for  Matthias.  This 
of  course  was  readily  done.  The  romantic 
youth  who  had  slipped  by  stealth  from  his  warm 
bed  in  Vienna,  and  run  away  in  his  night-gown 


424  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

to  be  made  governor  of  the  Netherlands,  filled 
his  not  very  responsible  position  quite  harm- 
lessly for  two  or  three  years,  until  he  was 
crowded  out  to  make  room  for  Anjou. 

Don  John  sat  looking  down  from  his  lofty 
citadel  of  Namur  upon  these  insolent  proceed- 
ings in  Brussels,  ready  to  burst  with  indigna- 
tion. He  haughtily  intimated  to  the  emperor 
that  if  Matthias  really  did  run  away  to  the 
Netherlands  without  leave,  as  had  been  repre- 
sented, his  imperial  majesty  might  at  least 
command  the  boy  to  come  home  again.  This, 
however,  the  emperor  did  not  make  haste  to  do. 

Don  John  was  not  very  sorry  to  have  a  good 
excuse  for  going  to  war  with  the  Netherlanders, 
after  all.  Both  parties  collected  their  forces  as 
rapidly  as  possible.  Troops  were  sent  from 
abroad,  under  Alexander  of  Parma  and  other 
experienced  officers,  to  aid  the  repudiated  gov- 
ernor-general, who  was  already  broken  in  health 
and  spirits  by  the  vexations  he  had  undergone. 
In  a  short  time  both  armies  were  mustered, 
each  numbering  about  twenty  thousand  foot  and 
two  thousand  horse.     On  the  last  day  of  Janu- 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  425 

ary,  1578,  a  general  engagement  took  place  at 
Gemblours,  not  far  from  Namur.  It  resulted 
most  disastrously  to  the  army  of  the  states, 
owing  to  the  unfaithfulness  and  incompetence 
of  the  Catholic  nobles  in  command.  They  lost 
about  ten  thousand  men,  while  the  loss  of  the 
Spaniards  was  almost  nothing.  Don  John  pro- 
ceeded to  reduce  many  small  cities  in  that 
region,  illustrating  these  petty  conquests  by  the 
usual  barbarities  as  he  advanced. 

The  defeat  of  Gemblours  caused  a  violent 
reaction  against  the  Catholic  faction.  The 
leading  nobles  who  opposed  Orange  would  have 
been  mobbed  but  for  his  generous  interposition. 
In  this  moment  of  disaster,  nobody  dared  un- 
dertake to  thwart  measures  approved  by  him. 
The  misfortune  happily  resulted  in  temporarily 
uniting  the  before  discordant  parties  for  the 
general  defense. 

The  important  city  of  Amsterdam  had  long 
been  the  only  one  in  Holland  which  did  not 
maintain  the  authority  of  the  prince,  and  the 
Protestant  faith.  It  was  not  the  fault  of  the 
people,  however.     The  magistrates  were  stiff 


426  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

papists,  and  were  resolved  to  keep  the  author- 
ity in  their  own  hands.  The  prince  would  not 
resort  to  force,  and  so  the  city  had  hitherto 
been  in  an  attitude  of  hostility  toward  his  gov- 
ernment. But  early  in  February,  1578,  certain 
deputies  from  Utrecht  succeeded  in  arranging 
terms  which  Amsterdam  accepted.  Toleration 
was  now  promised  to  the  reformed  faith  in  that 
city,  whose  recovery  was  more  than  enough  to 
make  up  for  the  defeat  of  Gemblours. 

A  few  months  after  this,  there  was  a  rumor 
of  some  Catholic  plot  on  foot  in  Amsterdam. 
It  seemed  likely  enough,  for  the  city  swarmed 
with  monks  and  friars,  and  the  magistrates  were 
still  papists.  A  few  bold  men  concerted  a  plan 
for  deposing  the  present  municipal  authorities 
and  ridding  the  city  of  the  friars.  With  the 
help  of  a  trusty  band  of  soldiers,  as  well  a's 
many  inhabitants,  on  the  28th  of  May  they  sud- 
denly seized  both  magistrates  and  monks,  and 
marched  them  in  a  solemn  procession  down  to 
the  water's  edge.  Here  they  were  ordered  on 
board  a  vessel  which  lay  waiting  for  them. 
The  exultant  populace  swarmed  on  every  side, 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  427 

as  the  terrified  senators  and  ecclesiastics  were 
thus  led  forth.  "  To  the  gallows  with  them  ! 
to  the  gallows,  where  they  have  sent  many  a 
good  fellow  before  his  time !  "  ejaculated  the 
crowd,  no  less  fervently  than  old  Hessels  had 
formerly  done  in  the  Blood  Council.  The  un- 
happy wretches  now  in  hand  perceived  that  they 
were  likely  to  be  drowned  rather  than  gibbeted, 
but  that  was  small  consolation.  The  careful 
wife  of  the  burgomaster,  old  Heinrich  Dirkzoon, 
hearing  that  the  magistrates  were  going  no  one 
knew  whither,  managed  to  send  her  husband  a 
pair  of  clean  shirts  for  the  voyage.  "  Take  them 
away !  take  them  home  again  !  "  replied  the  de- 
spairing ex-burgomaster,  as  the  anxious  maid 
offered  the  snowy  linen,  "  I  shall  never  need 
any  more  clean  shirts  in  this  world."  The  ves- 
sel put  out  from  the  wharf.  The  trembling 
prisoners  expected  nothing  else  than  to  be  sunk 
in  the  Zuyder  Zee  ;  instead  of  which  they  were 
presently  landed  high  and  dry  upon  the  top  of 
a  dike,  and  bidden  to  go  anywhere  they  liked 
except  back  to  Amsterdam.  The  municipal 
offices  having  been  vacated  in  this  jocose  and 


428  WILLIAM   THE   SILE2TT. 

summary  fashion,  a  new  board  was  elected,  and 
Protestant  worship  duly  recognized  thence- 
forth. 

Ever  since  Holland  and  Zealand  had  re- 
nounced their  allegiance  to  Philip  II.,  they  had 
purposed  to  place  themselves  under  the  protec- 
tion of  some  other  potentate  ;  for  they  had  no 
idea  that  a  nation  could  do  without  an  anointed 
sovereign.  Since  William  of  Orange  persisted 
in  refusing  to  assume  that  dignity,  they  natur- 
ally turned  to  the  Protestant  Elizabeth  of  Eng- 
land. Near  the  close  of  1575,  an  embassy  was 
sent  thither  to  offer  to  her  majesty  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Holland  and  Zealand. 

Elizabeth  was  unwilling  to  say  no,  yet  she 
dared  not  say  yes.  She  reflected  that  in  the 
former  case  the  two  provinces  would  doubtless 
offer  themselves  to  her  neighbor  of  France,  of 
whom  she  was  always  jealous.  On  the  other 
hand,  to  accept  the  honor  proposed  would  in- 
volve her  in  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  ex- 
pense. She  would  be  obliged  to  take  their  part 
against  Philip,  and  no  one  could  say  where  the 
contest  would  end.     So   the   great  queen  as- 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  429 

sumed  much  the  attitude  of  the  dog  in  the 
manger,  neither  accepting  the  sovereignty  her- 
self, nor  allowing  it  to  be  offered  to  anybody 
else.  As  often  as  the  provinces  sent  renewed 
proposals  to  her,  she  would  receive  them  with 
rather  cool  politeness,  as  one  who  inwardly 
wonders  at  the  persistency  of  a  presumptuous 
suitor.  Whenever  she  suspected  that  they  were 
paying  court  to  her  rival  of  France,  she  would 
use  all  her  fascinations  to  draw  them  back  to 
her  feet.  Thus  the  royal  coquette  had  hitherto 
kept  the  matter  in  suspense. 

But  now  the  Catholic  nobles,  who  had  missed 
their  aim  in  calling  in  Matthias,  made  secret 
advances  to  the  Duke  of  Alencon,*  having  the 
same  end  in  view.  That  personage,  who  had 
vibrated  repeatedly  from  the  Romish  to  the 
Huguenot  party  and  back  again,  at  this  moment 
was  wearing  his  coat  with  the  Protestant  side 
out.  Still,  his  religious  as  well  as  his  political 
convictions  always  hung  about  him  so  loosely  as 
not  to  hinder  the   greatest  latitude  of  move- 

*  A  brother  of  the  French  king,  who  soon  after  became  Duke  of 
Anjou. 


430  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

merit.  All  Lis  sentiments  were  of  the  reversi- 
ble sort,  having  one  side  fair  and  clean  for  re- 
spectable circles,  and  the  other  rough-and-ready 
for  dirty  work.  Such  was  his  skill  in  appear- 
ing to  be  what  he  was  not,  and  concealing  what 
he  really  was,  that  even  the  prince  and  Saint 
Aldegonde  were  in  a  measure  deceived. 

He  was  now  actually  in  Mons,  and  by  accept- 
ing his  offers  of  friendship  and  aid,  Orange 
contrived  to  reap  advantage  rather  than  harm 
from  these  renewed  intrigues  of  the  aristocratic 
faction.  Upon  the  13th  of  August,  1578,  a 
treaty  was  concluded  between  the  duke  and  the 
states,  according  to  which  the  former  was  to 
furnish  a  considerable  body  of  French  troops, 
and  in  return  he  was  to  be  honored  with  the 
high-sounding  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Lib- 
erty of  the  Netherlands  against  the  Tyranny  of 
the  Spaniards  and  their  adherents."  The  states 
also  promised  to  aid  him  in  their  turn,  should 
it  ever  be  needful,  to  an  equal  amount.  He 
was  not  to  interfere  with  the  internal  affairs  of 
the  country ;  but  should  the  Netherlands  ulti- 


UNEXPECTED  MOVEMENTS.  431 

mately  accept  a  foreign  monarch,  he  was  to 
have  their  first  offer. 

During  this  summer,  some  negotiations  with 
Don  John  had  been  attempted,  but  in  vain. 
His  army  and  that  of  the  states  sat  grimly 
watching  each  other  in  their  respective  camps, 
but  for  want  of  funds  they  could  do  no  more. 
The  position  of  Don  John  was  extremely  pain- 
ful and  trying;  Philip  would  neither  recall  him, 
as  he  urgently  requested,  nor  yet  would  he 
furnish  him  with  means  to  push  on  the  war. 
To  appearance,  his  majesty  expected  him  to 
subsist  upon  nothing,  and  cover  himself  with 
glory  meanwhile.  He  had  long  felt  that  he 
was  distrusted  at  court.  When  there  came 
news  that  his  favorite  Escovedo  had  been  assas- 
sinated in  Madrid,  through  agents  of  Perez  — 
the  very  man  in  whom  they  both  had  utterly 
confided  —  and  by  order  of  the  king,  Don  John 
grew  sick  at  heart  and  weary  of  life.  He  wrote 
mournfully  of  his  embarrassing  position,  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  summer,  to  one  of  his 
friends  at  Genoa.  "  I  have  besought  his  ma- 
jesty over  and  over  again,"  said  he,  "  to  send 


432  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

me  his  orders.  If  they  come,  they  shall  be  exe- 
cuted, unless  they  arrive  too  late.  They  have 
cut  off  our  hands,  and  we  have  now  nothing 
for  it  but  to  stretch  forth  our  heads  also  to  the 
ax.  I  grieve  to  trouble  you  with  my  sorrows, 
but  I  trust  to  your  sympathy  as  a  man  and  a 
friend.  I  hope  that  you  will  remember  me  in 
your  prayers,  for  you  can  put  your  trust  where, 
in  former  days,  I  never  could  place  my  own." 

A  few  days  later,  he  wrote  his  last  letter  to 
the  king.  Already  he  had  a  fever  upon  him, 
under  which  his  constitution  was  rapidly  giving 
way.  He  represented  once  more  his  perplexi- 
ties, —  without  orders,  without  means,  a,  French 
army  already  in  the  country,  and  the  plague 
ravaging  his  own.  He  implored  the  king  to 
send  instructions,  to  tell  him  plainly  whether 
he  was  to  stay  for  reinforcements  or  to  fight, 
and,  if  the  latter,  whether  to  attack  the  French 
army  or  that  of  the  states.  But  there  was  des- 
tined to  be  no  more  waiting  for  orders  from  the 
dilatory  monarch  of  Spain.  A  messenger  was 
even  then  approaching  from  the  invisible  world. 
Within  ten  days,  Don  John  was  dead. 


UNEXPECTED   MOVEMENTS.  433 

It  was  a  mournful  close  for  so  brief  and  bril- 
liant a  career.  The  youthful  conqueror  of 
Granada,  the  hero  of  Lepanto,  perished  in  the 
flower  of  his  age,  disappointed,  baffled,  ne- 
glected, and  betrayed.  It  was  in  the  low  and 
narrow  loft  of  a  little  hovel  that  Don  John  lay 
down  to  die.  The  miserable  chamber  had  for 
years  served  as  a  dove-cot.  It  was  now  hastily 
cleansed  and  hung  with  tapestry,  for  a  sick- 
room. Day  after  day  the  unfortunate  com- 
mander tossed  restlessly  in  a  burning  fever, 
raving  ever  of  battle-fields  and  victories,  while 
his  nephew,  Alexander  of  Parma,  sat  watching 
by  his  side.  At  last  the  delirium  passed  away, 
but  death  was  at  hand.  Don  John  named 
Parma  as  his  successor  in  command,  received 
the  last  sacraments  of  the  Romish  Church,  and 
quietly  expired,  on  the  1st  of  October,  1578. 

28 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT. 

LEXANDER,  Prince  of  Parma,  was  the 
only  surviving  son  of  the  Duchess  Mar- 

^B"6  garet  and  Ottavio  Farnese.  As  has  been 
already  stated,  his  mother  was  a  daughter 

of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.     His  father  was  a 

grandson  of   Pope  Paul   the  Third.     The  boy 

who  thus  derived  his  birth 

"  From  loins  enthroned,  and  rulers  of  the  earth  " 

grew  up  with  a  passionate  fondness  for  arms. 
Though  apt  in  the  lore  of  books,  he  loved  war 
far  better.  At  eleven  years  of  age,  he  wept 
bitterly  because  his  uncle,  Philip  II.,  would  not 
permit  him  to  fight  as  a  volunteer  in  the  battle 
of  Saint  Quentin.  When,  in  the  first  flush  of 
his  manhood,  he  was  at  length  permitted  to 
share  in  the  last  crusade  against  the  Turks,  he 
flew  to  the  war  as  if  to  a  gay  tournament.     He 

434 


THE    UNION  OF   UTRECHT.  435 

fought  at  Lepanto  with  a  reckless  and  desper- 
ate courage  for  which  Don  John  even  reproved 
him,  after  the  battle  was  over.  But  he  gayly 
replied  that,  since  his  saintly  wife  was  praying 
night  and  day  for  his  safety,  he  could  dare  all 
dangers  without  the  least  fear. 

He  had  come  to  the  Netherlands  just  before 
the  battle  of  Gemblours,  which  was  won,  in 
fact,  under  his  leadership.  In  his  thirty-third 
year,  he  now  assumed  command  of  the  army  of 
Spain,  and  proved  himself  more  able  and  skill- 
ful than  either  of  his  predecessors.  He  was 
well-formed  and  graceful  in  person,  princely  in 
bearing,  magnificent  in  his  attire.  His  hair 
and  eyes  were  dark,  his  features  handsome,  so 
far  as  a  luxuriant  beard  permitted  them  to  be 
seen.  The  expression  of  his  countenance,  how- 
ever, is  said  to  have  boon  not  altogether  attrac- 
tive. One  could  not  observe  the  subtle,  pierc- 
ing eyes,  the  alert,  brisk,  decided  air,  without 
feeling  a  little  afraid  of  him.  The  man  looked 
dangerous.  Evidently,  it  would  bo  no  easy 
matter  for  one  to  strike  him  unawares  ;  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  provoke  him,  even  at  a  distance. 


436  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT. 

Though  quick  and  penetrating  in  his  percep- 
tions, he  was  cool  and  sagacious  in  his  conduct. 
He  was  ever  fearless,  but  seldom  rash.  He  was 
decorous  in  outward  observances,  but  unscru- 
pulous in  regard  to  the  means  of  reaching  his 
end.  His  industry  was  incessant,  his  perse- 
verance endless. 

Alexander  Farnese  possessed  no  such  powers 
of  fascination  as  Don  John  had  exercised  ;  jet 
his  ability  to  control  men  was  much  greater. 
If  less  charming  than  his  kinsman  had  been,  he 
was  nevertheless  far  more  commanding.  He 
was  not  at  all  romantic,  but  matter-of-fact  and 
practical.  No  visions  of  crowns  won  and  cap- 
tive queens  released  danced  before  his  eyes,  but 
he  set  himself  deliberately  and  persistently  to 
the  task  of  subduing  the  Netherlands,  and 
made  it  his  business,  year  in  and  year  out,  with 
seemingly  never  a  thought  for  anything  else. 

At  the  time  when  Alexander  of  Parma  as- 
sumed the  command,  the  autumn  was  too  far 
advanced  for  extensive  campaigns,  even  had  he 
found  ample  resources  at  his  disposal.  But  he 
prudently  reflected  that  something   might   be 


THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT.  437 

done  by  buying  up  traitors  during  the  winter 
months,  if  not  by  fighting.  He  had  reason  to 
suspect  that  certain  of  the  Netherland  nobles 
would  be  tolerably  willing  to  bargain  with  him, 
especially  those  who  had  been  twice  foiled  in 
their  attempts  to  circumvent  Orange.  Accord- 
ingly, his  first  efforts  were  directed  to  this 
quarter. 

The  Seignior  de  la  Motte,  governor  of  Grave- 
lines,  had  been  purchased  and  paid  for,  in  the 
time  of  Don  John.  At  first  fifty  thousand 
crowns  were  proposed  for  La  Motte  and  his 
friend,  the  present  Baron  Montigny,  with  their 
troops,  though  the  agent  of  the  king  insisted 
that  they  wore  very  dear  at  that  price.  Moan- 
while  the  affair  got  noised  abroad  prematurely. 
La  Motte  learned  that  the  Spanish  officers  were 
making  many  unpleasant  and  sarcastic  remarks 
at  his  expense,  and  consequently  he  began  to 
draw  back  from  the  bargain  in  high  dudgeon. 
However,  he  finally  consented  to  be  struck  off 
to  Don  John  at  the  stipulated  price,  and  with 
him  the  Spaniards  acquired  Gravelincs.  What 
was  worse,  many  others  shortly  followed  his 


438  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

infamous  example.  Parma  smoothed  the  way 
for  them  as  much  as  possible.  He  well  under- 
stood how  to  manage  affairs  of  so  delicate  a 
nature,  and  never  failed  to  observe  a  decent 
secrecy,  at  least,  in  regard  to  these  mercenary 
treasons.  Before  many  months  had  elapsed,  a 
goodly  number  of  Netherland  nobles  had  sold 
themselves,  body  and  soul,  to  Philip  of  Spain. 

With  regard  to  some  of  these,  the  states 
might  have  wished  Alexander  much  joy  of  his 
bargain,  had  he  acquired  simply  the  individuals 
themselves,  and  what  pertained  to  them.  But 
the  defection  of  so  many  nobles  in  the  southern 
provinces  from  the  patriot  party  had  no  small 
effect  upon  the  mass  of  the  people  around 
them.  It  was  the  entering  wedge  which  led 
to  the  ultimate  division  of  the  Netherlands. 
Though  the  cleft  was  slight  at  first,  it  widened 
day  by  day.  The  Walloon  provinces  leaned 
more  and  more  toward  popery  and  Spain,  while 
the  steadfast  north  was  ever  growing  firmer  in 
its  adhesion  to  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

William  of  Orange  and  the  other  Protestant 
nobles  were  quick  to  discover  whither  matters 


THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT.  439 

were  tending.  The  states-general  repeatedly 
sent  deputations  to  the  Walloon  provinces  to 
warn  them  of  their  danger,  and  to  entreat  them 
not  to  separate  themselves  from  the  rest  of  the 
nation  by  any  compromise  with  Spain.  But  it 
was  of  no  avail.  The  Ghent  treaty  had  united 
all  the  seventeen  states  against  their  common 
foe  for  a  brief  period  ;  but  that  bond  was  now 
virtually  sundered.  It  was  no  longer  possible 
to  construct  a  league  embracing  all ;  but  the 
northern  provinces  were  soon  consolidated  by  a 
new  compact  called  the  "  Union  of  Utrecht." 
This  ultimately  became  the  basis  of  the  Dutch 
Republic,  as  it  existed  for  two  hundred  years. 

Count  John  of  Nassau,  the  only  surviving 
brother  of  the  prince,  was  now  stadtholder  of 
Gelderland  and  Zutphen,  which  were  consid- 
ered as  one  province.  He  was  prominent  in 
proposing  the  Union  of  Utrecht,  which  the 
prince  desired  the  states  to  consider  and  adopt 
of  themselves,  as  it  were,  rather  than  by  his 
direct  influence.  The  deputies  of  several  prov- 
inces met,  together  with  Count  John,  early  in 
January,  1579.     On  the  23rd  of  January,  the 


440  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

celebrated  compact  was  provisionally  adopted, 
and  proclaimed  on  the  29th  from  the  town- 
house  of  Utrecht.  The  first  signers  were  the 
stadtholder  and  deputies  of  Gelderland,  and  the 
members  from  Holland,  Zealand,  Utrecht,  and 
Friesland.  Subsequently,  Overyssel,  Groningen, 
and  the  northern  portion  of  Brabant,  were  em- 
braced iu  the  confederation,  which  was  for 
a  long  period  known  as  the  seven  United 
Provinces. 

This  celebrated  Union  of  Utrecht,  as  its 
preamble  distinctly  declared,  was  designed  to 
confirm,  not  to  annul,  the  Pacification  of  Ghent. 
It  was  a  closer  alliance  between  certain  prov- 
inces, for  mutual  defense  against  their  common 
foe.  While  the  contracting  parties  bound 
themselves  to  remain  perpetually  united,  as  if 
they  were  but  one  province,  each  member  of  the 
confederation  was  to  retain  its  own  peculiar 
charters,  privileges,  customs,  and  laws,  without 
any  abridgment  or  change.  Allegiance  to  the 
king  was  still  professed  ;  but  the  provinces  en- 
gaged to  defend  each  other  against  the  foreign 
soldiery,  and  all  hostile  invasions  whatsoever, 


THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT.  441 

with  their  fortunes  and  their  lives.  The  ex- 
penses of  their  mutual  protection  were  to  be 
equitably  shared  among  them  all.  The  power  of 
making  war  and  peace,  of  concluding  treaties, 
and  of  establishing  imposts,  was  to  depend  upon 
the  unanimous  consent  of  the  several  provinces. 
Upon  other  matters,  the  majority  might  de- 
cide. A  common  currency  was  to  be  estab- 
lished, furthermore,  and,  more  important  than 
all,  there  was  to  be  religious  toleration  for 
both  Catholics  and  Protestants. 

In  many  respects,  the  Union  of  Utrecht  re- 
sembled our  own  American  Union.  As  re- 
garded foreign  nations,  the  confederated  prov- 
inces were  virtually  a  unit,  though  that  unit  was 
composed  of  several  sovereign  states.  These 
states  were  not  as  yet  republics,  however ;  nor 
could  their  envoys  to  the  general  assembly  of 
deputies  be  strictly  called  representatives  of  the 
people.  The  Dutch  Republic  was  yet  in  the 
future ;  but  the  Union  of  Utrecht  prepared  its 
way. 

A  movement  equally  important,  but  in  the 
opposite  direction,  was  meanwhile  going  on  in 


442  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

the  remaining  provinces.  They  were  about  to 
become  reconciled  to  Spain.  As  they  were  not 
quite  prepared  openly  to  repudiate  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  however,  Alexander  of  Parma  pro- 
fessed himself  willing  to  make  that  the  basis 
of  his  present  negotiations  with  them,  "  provided 
always  that  it  were  interpreted  healthily." 
Since  in  his  opinion  religious  liberty  was  never 
"  healthy,"  of  course  the  Ghent  treaty  must  not 
be  interpreted  to  mean  that,  nor  anything  bor- 
dering upon  it.  The  only  truly  sound  condi- 
tion was  that  wherein  every  living  soul  should 
be  a  good  and  faithful  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  And  next  to  that  millennial 
state,  to  be  blessed  with  the  inquisition  and 
edicts,  with  racks,  gibbets,  and  stakes,  was 
most  wholesome  and  desirable. 

The  "  reconciled  "  nobles  exerted  a  fatal  in- 
fluence over  the  southern  provinces.  In  spite 
of  repeated  remonstrances  from  the  sister  states, 
they  began  to  give  ear  to  the  propositions  of 
Parma.     Since  these  Walloon  *  provinces  were 

*  Artois,  Hainault,  Lille,  Douay,  and  Orchies  are  those  particularly 
specified  in  these  negotiations  with  Parma. 


THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT.  443 

generally  devoted  to  the  Romish  faith,  there 
was  no  difficulty  about  the  religious  question. 
They  complained  of  the  foreign  troops  as  their 
principal  grievance.     Parma  did  not  hesitate  to 
assure  them,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  that  the 
soldiers  should  be  sent  away  again  forthwith  ; 
for  promises  are  cheaply  made  by  those  who  do 
not  mean  to  keep  them.     He  even  wrote  to  the 
other   provinces,   inviting   them   to  accept  the 
same    terms   of    reconciliation.     It   would   be 
only  to  restore  "  the  system  of  the    Emperor 
Charles,  of  very  lofty  memory."     "'To  this  su- 
perfluous invitation,"  says  Motley,  "  the  states- 
general  replied  that  it  had  been  the  system  of 
the  Emperor    Charles,    of    lofty    memory,    to 
maintain  the  supremacy  of  Catholicism  and  of 
majesty  in  the  Netherlands    by  burning  Neth- 
erlanders,  —  a   custom  which    the    states,  with 
common  accord,  had  thought  it  desirable  to  do 
away." 

Early  in  thg  spring,  the  Walloon  provinces, 
disregarding  the  continued  appeals  of  the 
prince  and  the  rest  of  the  states,  sent  a  large 
number  of  deputies  to  treat  with  Parma,  at  that 


444  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

time  besieging  Maestricbt.  Alexander  sent  out 
to  meet  these  returning  prodigals  on  their  way, 
received  them  most  graciously  in  a  splendid 
pavilion,  gave  them  a  sumptuous  banquet  that 
very  afternoon,  and  entertained  them  with 
dances  and  carousals  of  all  sorts  during  the 
whole  time  of  their  visit.  The  envoys  were 
completely  captivated  with  the  condescending 
affability  of  their  illustrious  host.  A  prelimi- 
nary agreement  was  soon  signed,  which  in  a 
few  months  resulted  in  a  final  reconciliation  of 
the  southern  provinces  with  Spain. 

Thus  the  Netherlands  were  henceforth  and 
forever  cut  in  twain.  Tbe  dividing  line  drawn 
by  the  craft  of  Parma  and  the  treachery  of  the 
Walloon  nobles  remains  to  this  day. 

Alexander's  first  military  operation  of  con- 
sequence was  the  siege  of  Maestricht,  which 
was  commenced  in  March,  1579,  and  lasted 
four  months.  This  city,  being  located  on  the 
borders  of  Germany,  and  commanding  the 
upper  Meuse,  was  a  very  important  one.  Its 
inhabitants  numbered  thirty-four  thousand  ;  its 
garrison   consisted   of  only  one  thousand  sol- 


THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT.  445 

diers.  Beside  these  there  was  a  burgher  guard 
of  twelve  hundred  men,  and  also  two  thousand 
peasants,  both  male  and  female,  who  were  used 
to  the  pickax  and  mattock,  and  did  excellent 
service  as  sappers  and  miners.  The  walls  were 
strong  and  the  supplies  tolerable.  What  was 
more,  the  people  were  devoted,  heart  and  soul, 
to  the  patriot  cause,  and  fully  resolved  never  to 
yield.  Alexander  of  Parma  had  an  army 
nearly  equal  in  numbers  to  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  Maestricht,  and  he  was  no  less  deter- 
mined than  they.  Our  limits  forbid  us  to  give 
full  details.  The  assaults  and  repulses,  the 
mining  and  countermining,  the  ingenious  de- 
vices of  warfare  on  either  side,  were  much  like 
those  of  the  sieges  already  narrated.  The 
women  of  Maestricht  were  not  less  heroic  than 
those  of  Harlem.  The  burghers  and  their 
wives  were  even  braver  and  more  resolute  than 
the  soldiers  themselves.  After  two  or  three  un- 
successful assaults,  in  which  ho  lost  four  thou- 
sand troops,  Parma  perceived  that  it  was  idle 
to  think  of  carrying  Maestricht  by  storm. 
Thenceforth  he  depended  chiefly  on  his  sappers 


446  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

and  miners.  For  a  long  time  he  was  continu- 
ally thwarted  by  the  diligent  and  skillful  coun- 
termining of  the  besieged.  But  at  length,  on 
the  night  preceding  the  festival  of  Saint  Peter 
and  Saint  Paul,  an  accidental  discovery  ena- 
bled the  Spaniards  to  surprise  and  carry  the 
city. 

The  usual  massacre  at  once  commenced. 
Neither  old  men,  nor  women,  nor  little  chil- 
dren, were  spared.  It  is  related  that  the  cry 
of  agony  which  rose  from  the  wretched  city  was 
distinctly  heard  at  the  distance  of*  three  miles. 
Hundreds  of  mothers  took  their  infants  in 
their  arms  and  threw  themselves  into  the  river. 
Those  who  remained  behind  were  hunted  from 
house  to  house,  hurled  from  the  roofs,  torn 
limb  from  limb  in  the  streets.  Four  thousand 
persons  were  butchered  upon  the  first  day,  and 
at  least  two  thousand  more  perished  before  the 
massacre  ceased.  There  seemed  scarcely  any- 
body left  in  Maestricht  after  it  was  over,  for  the 
miserable  survivors  had  not  the  heart  to  linger 
among  the  ruins  of  their  homes  and  the  man- 
gled corpses  of  their  dearest  friends. 


THE    UNION   OF    UTRECHT.  447 

At  the  time  the  city  was  taken,  Alexander 
was  sick.  But  the  joy  of  such  a  victory  soon 
cured  him.  He  was  borne  into  the  town  in 
great  state,  where  he  piously  paid  his  thanks- 
givings, ill  the  church  of  Saint  Servais,  "  to  his 
divine  comrades,  Peter  and  Paul.*  " 

William  of  Orange  had  done  his  best  to  save 
Maestricht,  but  had  been  unable  to  arouse  the 
states  to  earnest  efforts  in  its  behalf.  Now 
that  it  had  fallen,  there  were  men  base  enough 
to  lay  the  blame  upon  him.  And  yet,  within 
that  very  year,  he  had  again  and  again  been 
appealed  to,  as  the  only  person  in  the  land  who 
could  restore  order  in  the  turbulent  and  fac- 
tious city  of  Ghent,  nor  had  they  sought  his 
aid  in  vain.  In  spite  of  busy  calumniators,  the 
prince  had  a  strong  hold  on  almost  every  indi- 
vidual heart  in  the  nation.  His  burdens  and 
trials  were  continually  increasing,  but  faith  in 
God  enabled  him  tranquilly  to  sustain  them  all. 

*  "  Petro  et  Paulo  gratias  quasi  stipendium  persolvit  commilitoni- 
bus  divis."    Strada,  p.  130,  as  quoted  by  Motley. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

INDEPENDENCE    DECLARED. 

2|^R0M  May  to  November  of  this  year,  there 
was  an  august  assembly  of  archbishops, 
abbots,  doctors  of  divinity,  "  serene  high- 
nesses, transparencies,  and  worthiness- 
es,*" in  session  at  Cologne  upon  the  affairs  of 
the  Netherlands.  The  emperor,  the  king,  the 
states,  and  the  pope,  were  severally  represented 
in  this  illustrious  convocation.  There  was  a 
vast  deal  of  debating  and  scribbling  done  by 
its  members,  as  well  as  "  much  excellent  eat- 
ing and  drinking,"  but  at  the  end  of  the  seven 
months,  matters  stood  precisely  as  at  the  be- 
ginning. The  two  vital  points  which  the  prov- 
inces never  ceased  to  insist  upon  —  the  chartered 
rights,  and  religious  toleration  —  were  the  self- 

*  Quoted  from  the  language  of  the  states'  envoys.  Motley,  Vol.  ITT. 
p.  459. 

448 


IXDEPEXDEXCE    DECLARED.  449 

same  two  which  the  king  would  never  concede. 
The  imperial  commissioners,  who  had  under- 
taken the  part  of  peacemakers,  at  length  dis- 
covered that  they  were  wasting  their  time  in 
trying  to  reconcile  differences  so  utterly  irre- 
concilable, and  so,  washing  their  hands  of  all 
further  responsibility,  they  left  the  aifair  "  in 
the  hands  of  God  and  the  parties  concerned." 

After  the  Cologne  conferences  had  closed,  a 
few  of  the  states'  commissioners  lingered  be- 
hind, and  made  their  individual  peace  with 
Spain.  One  of  these  was  the  unstable  Duke  of 
Aerschot,  and  another  the  Marquis  of  Havre. 
Shortly  afterward,  two  more  important  cases  of 
treason  occurred,  in  quarters  where  better 
things  might  have  been  looked  for.  The 
Seignior  de  Bours,  who  had  saved  the  Antwerp 
citadel  for  the  patriots  in  the  time  of  Don  John, 
was  now  bribed  by  Parma  to  give  him  the  city 
of  Mechlin,  of  which  he  was  governor.  The 
price  was  five  thousand  florins  and  the  com- 
mand of  a  regiment.  However,  it  was  not  a 
very  profitable  bargain  to  Parma,  as  he  lost  the 
city  within  six  months  by  a  surprise.     Early 

29 


450  WILLIAM    THE    SILENT. 

the  next  year,  Count  Renneberg,  governor  of 
Friesland,  delivered  up  Groningen,  in  a  similar 
manner.  The  original  bill  of  sale  of  this  able, 
accomplished,  and  well-paid  traitor  still  exists 
in  the  royal  archives  of  Brussels.  He  had 
been  implicitly  trusted  by  Orange,  and  within  a 
year  or  two  after  his  treason,  remorse  for  this 
deed  actually  brought  him  to  his  grave.     • 

There  was  no  lack  of  bids  for  the  prince  him- 
self, though  nobody  dared  make  him  a  direct 
offer  of  such  a  disgraceful  nature.  It  was  deli- 
cately intimated,  however,  through  intermedi- 
ate parties,  that  "  there  was  nothing  he  could 
demand  for  himself  personally  that  would  not 
be  granted."  His  estates  should  be  restored, 
his  debts  paid,  his  son  sent  back  to  him  from 
Spain,  he  should  have  liberty  of  worship  for 
himself,  and  whatever  else  he  might  desire. 

But  the  prince  nobly  declared  that  "  neither 
for  property  nor  for  life,  neither  for  wife  nor  for 
children,  would  he  mix  in  his  cup  a  single  drop 
of  treason,  nor  would  he,  directly  or  indirectly, 
separate  himself  from  the  cause  on  which  hung 
all    his   evil   or  felicity."     Yet,   although    he 


INDEPENDENCE   DECLARED.  451 

utterly  refused  to  make  terms  for  himself,  apart 
from  the  states,  he  magnanimously  offered  to 
resign  all  his  offices  and  withdraw  from  the 
country,  if  they  could  make  better  terms  for 
themselves  apart  from  him.  But  he  solemnly 
warned  them  not  to  accept  any  propositions  for 
peace  which  did  not  recognize  their  rights  to 
their  ancient  privileges,  and  to  liberty  of  con- 
science. 

The  noble  mother  of  William  the  Silent,  who 
had  already  given  up  three  of  her  sons  to  a 
patriot's  death,  had  once  written  to  him  thus, 
—  "  My  heart  longs  for  certain  tidings  from  my 
lord,  for  methinks  the  peace  now  in  prospect 
will  prove  but  an  oppression  for  soul  and  con- 
science. I  trust  my  heart's  dearly-beloved  lord 
and  son  will  be  supported  by  divine  grace  to 
do  nothing  against  God  and  his  own  soul's  sal- 
vation. '  Tis  better  to  lose  the  temporal  than  the 
eternal.'  "  The  unfeigned  faith  which  dwelt  first 
in  the  mother  was  also  in  the  son.  Looking 
not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen,  William  of  Orange 
counseled   the    provinces    now   to   risk   every 


452  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

earthly  possession  rather  than  give  up  religious 
freedom. 

Since  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  bribe  the 
prince,  the  next  endeavor  of  Spain  was  to  get 
him  assassinated.  Cardinal  Granvelle  had  al- 
ways been  dropping  hints  about  "  finishing  " 
this  troublesome  and  impracticable  personage, 
whom  they  could  neither  conquer  nor  buy. 
He  now  advised  Philip  to  set  a  price  upon  his 
head.  In  the  spring  of  1580,  this  was  actually 
done,  to  the  everlasting  infamy  of  both  the  car- 
dinal and  the  king. 

This  celebrated  proclamation  of  outlawry 
against  Orange  was  introduced  by  a  long  accu- 
sation, intended  to  justify  the  extreme  measure. 
It  then  proceeded  to  declare  him  traitor  and 
miscreant,  an  enemy  of  the  human  race,  with 
whom  all  loyal  subjects  were  forbidden  to  have 
anything  more  to  do.  He  was  to  be  denied 
food,  drink,  fire,  and  shelter  ;  his  property  was 
to  be  his  who  could  seize  it.  "  And  if  any  one 
of  our  subjects,  or  any  stranger,"  the  ban  con- 
cluded, "  should  be  found  sufficiently  generous 
of  heart  to  rid  us  of  this  pest,  delivering  him 


INDEPENDENCE   DECLARED.  453 

to  us,  alive  or  dead,  or  taking  his  life,  we  will 
cause  to  be  furnished  to  him,  immediately  after 
the  deed  shall  have  been  done,  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  thousand  crowns  in  gold.  If  he, 
the  assassin,  have  committed  any  crime,  how- 
ever heinous,  we  promise  to  pardon  him,  and 
if  he  be  not  already  noble,  we  will  ennoble  him 
for  his  valor." 

Philip  fancied  the  prince  would  at  least  be 
intimidated  by  this  tremendous  ban  ;  but  he 
was  disappointed  even  in  that  hope.  "  I  am  in 
the  hand  of  God,"  said  the  Christian  patriot ; 
"  my  worldly  goods  and  my  life  have  been  long 
since  dedicated  to  his  service.  He  will  dis- 
pose of  them  as  seems  best  for  his  glory  and  my 
salvation." 

T^e  ban  excited  great  indignation  in  the 
Netherlands.  The  prince  replied  to  it,  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  by  his  celebrated  "  Apology," 
defending  himself  against  the  calumnies  lately 
promulgated,  and  maintaining  the  justice  of  the 
cause  for  whose  sake  he  had  been  thus  con- 
demned. Shortly  after  the  sentence  of  out- 
lawry,  Holland    and    Zealand    sufficiently   ex- 


454  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

pressed  their  judgment  of  the  proscribed  prince 
by  renewing  their  entreaties  that  he  would  ac- 
cept the  entire  authority  as  sovereign  and  chief 
of  those  two  states,  so  long  as  the  war  should 
last.  When  he  had  finally  consented  to  do  so, 
which  was  not  until  July,  1581,  the  estates 
secretly  canceled  the  limitation  as  to  time, 
which  had  been  inserted  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  secure  his  acceptance  of  the  office.  He 
had  been  their  ruler  in  fact,  though  not  in 
form,  for  some  years  already,  and  the  heredi- 
tary title  of  Count  of  Holland,  brought  him  no 
additional  power. 

The  usual  oaths  of  fidelity  and  allegiance 
were  exchanged  between  the  prince  and  the 
representatives  of  the  two  provinces,  upon  the 
24th  of  July,  1581.  Two  days  afterward,  the 
deputies  of  those  states  which  had  formed  the 
union  of  Utrecht  —  now  sitting  at  the  Hague 
—  issued  their  declaration  of  independence. 
They  entitled  it  the  act  of  abjugation.  The 
introduction  of  this  document  expressed  their 
views  of  the  relations  between  a  monarch  and 
his  people,  as  follows  :  — 


INDEPENDENCE  DECLARED.  455 

"  All  mankind  know  that  a  prince  is  ap- 
pointed by  God  to  cherish  his  subjects,  even  as 
a  shepherd  to  guard  his  sheep.  When,  there- 
fore, the  prince  does  not  fulfill  his  duty  as  pro- 
tector, when  he  oppresses  his  subjects,  destroys 
their  ancient  liberties,  and  treats  them  as 
slaves,  he  is  to  be  considered  not  a  prince,  but 
a  tyrant.  As  such,  the  estates  of  the  land  may 
lawfully  and  reasonably  depose  him,  and  elect 
another  in  his  room." 

The  next  step,  of  course,  was  to  prove  that 
Philip  of  Spain  had  been  a  tyrant  to  his  Neth- 
erland  provinces.  In  a  cool,  dispassionate 
manner,  they  went  over  the  history  of  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  setting  forth  how  he  had 
governed  the  country  by  foreign  officers  instead 
of  natives ;  how  he  had  created  additional  bish- 
oprics in  order  to  strengthen  the  detested  in- 
quisition ;  how  Alva,  acting  under  the  royal 
command,  had  deluged  the  land  with  blood  ; 
how  the  king  had  approved  the  atrocities  of  the 
"  Spanish  Fury ;  "  and  so  on  through  a  long 
catalogue,  down  to  that  crowning  outrage,  the 
ban  against  the  Prince  of  Orange. 


456  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

From  these  well-established  premises  they 
proceeded  logically  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
syllogism,  namely,  that  it  was  lawful  and  rea- 
sonable to  depose  Philip,  which,  by  this  their 
solemn  act  of  abjuration,  they  declared  to  be 
done.  They  proclaimed  to  the  world  that  they 
would  never  more  recognize  him  as  their  sove- 
reign, either  in  fact  or  in  name.  All  persons 
were  required  to  take  an  oath  renouncing  his 
authority,  and  vowing  fidelity  to  the  United 
Netherlands  and  their  national  council. 

In  order  to  avoid  giving  offense  to  such  pa- 
triots as  were  still  Roman  Catholics,  the  reli- 
gious despotism  of  Philip  had  been  presented 
less  prominently  in  the  declaration  of  wrongs 
than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  His  politi- 
cal oppression,  of  itself,  had  amply  justified  the 
revolt,  though  that  alone  might  not  have  suf- 
ficed to  alienate  the  provinces  for  ever  from 
their  hereditary  ruler.  The  estates  had  else- 
where openly  pronounced  the  inquisition  and 
the  edicts  "  the  first  and  true  cause  of  all  their 
miseries." 

Since   the   United  Netherlands  at  this  time 


INDEPENDENCE    DECLARED.  457 

had  no  thought  of  becoming  a  republic,  they 
had  now  to  provide  themselves  with  a  sove- 
reign. Though  the  two  provinces  of  Holland 
and  Zealand  had  just  made  the  prince  their 
ruler,  almost  in  spite  of  himself,  and  the  remain- 
ing five  would  have  been  more  than  content  to 
have  him  and  his  descendants  govern  them 
also,  he  steadfastly  refused,  lest  he  should  seem 
to  have  sought  a  kingdom  for  himself,  rather 
than  freedom  for  his  country.  Yet  this  disin- 
terested and  magnanimous  man  was  formerly 
represented  as  an  ambitious  intriguer. 

The  Duke  of  Alencon,  who  had  become  Duke 
of  Anjou  on  the  elevation  of  his  older  brother 
to  the  throne  of  Poland,  was  now  the  chief  can- 
didate for  the  vacant  sovereignty.  His  near 
relation  to  the  king  of  France,  as  well  as 
his  prospective  matrimonial  alliance  with  the 
queen  of  England,  weighed  much  in  his  favor. 
The  monarch  of  France  would  doubtless  bestir 
himself  in  behalf  of  the  provinces  if  his  brother 
was  made  their  ruler,  and  Elizabeth  too  might 
be  expected  to  espouse  their  cause  if  she  es- 
poused  their  sovereign.     With    such  aid,    the 


458  WILLIAM  THE   SILENT. 

long  contest  might  soon  be  happily  ended. 
And  though  Anjou  had  by  this  time  become  a 
Catholic  once  more,  his  powers  were  to  be  so 
carefully  defined  and  limited  that  it  was 
thought  no  harm  could  come  of  it,  especially  as 
religious  toleration  was  to  be  the  very  corner- 
stone of  the  new  government.  In  short,  the 
prince  urged  that  even  if  this  alliance  were  not 
all  that  could  be  desired,  it  was  the  best  that 
could  be  secured. 

During  the  summer,  while  the  matter  was 
still  undecided,  Anjou  arrived  in  the  western 
part  of  the  Netherlands  with  a  considerable 
force,  and  relieved  Cambray,  to  which  Parma 
had  just  laid  siege.  But  as  many  of  his  troops 
had  enlisted  only  for  a  short  time,  and  as  the 
provinces  were  not  yet  ready  to  make  formal 
propositions  to  him,  he  soon  proceeded  to  Eng- 
land, to  pursue  his  courtship  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth. In  the  autumn,  commissioners  were 
sent  thither  to  make  arrangements  with  Anjou 
for  his  installation  as  their  sovereign.  At  that 
time  November,  1581,  all  Europe  believed  that 
the  marriage  of  Elizabeth  with  the  duke  was  to 


INDEPENDENCE  DECLARED.  459 

take  place  very  soon.  Indeed,  rings  had  been 
already  exchanged,  in  token  of  betrothal,  and 
banquets,  tournaments,  and  all  sorts  of  festivi- 
ties followed,  except  the  wedding.  When  the 
duke  embarked  for  the  Netherlands  in  Febru- 
ary, 1582,  the  queen  accompanied  him  as  far 
as  Canterbury  with  great  pomp,  sent  a  splendid 
train  of  her  nobles  to  escort  him  to  his  future 
realm,  and  by  letter  desired  the  states-general 
to  honor  him  "  as  if  he  were  her  second  self." 
However,  the  match  was  somehow  broken  off, 
possibly  on  account  of  the  personal  repulsive- 
ness  of  the  duke,  for,  though  much  younger 
than  the  queen,  lie  was  insignificant  and  ill- 
formed,  his  face  was  blotched  and  pitted  with 
small-pox,  and  his  nose  so  enormous  and  mis- 
shapen that  it  looked  as  if  it  were  double. 
Notwithstanding  his  ugliness  of  person,  we  are 
told  that  he  was  quick  and  lively  of  intellect, 
and  could  make  himself  very  agreeable  upon 
occasion.  Saint  Aldegonde,  who  was  certainly 
a  competent  judge,  after  his  first  interview  with 
Anjou,  described  him  as  "  overflowing  with 
bounty,  intelligence,  and    sincerity."     But  he 


460  WILLIAM  THE   SILENT. 

found  reason  subsequently  to  change  his  mind, 
as  the  queen  seems  to  have  changed  hers. 

The  duke  was  solemnly  inaugurated  at  Ant- 
werp, on  the  17th  of  February,  1582,  amid 
great  pomp  and  display.*  He  took  the  re- 
quired oath  to  sustain  the  ancient  charters, 
and  subscribed  to  twenty-seven  articles,  which 
explicitly  defined  his  prerogatives  and  the 
rights  of  the  states.  No  arbitrary  power  was 
placed  in  his  hands.  Except  that  his  authority 
was  to  descend  to  his  children,  his  position  was 
not  unlike  that  of  the  president  of  a  republic. 
In  the  quaint  language  of  Count  John  of  Nas- 
sau, the  provinces  had  taken  care  "  to  provide 
him  with  a  good  muzzle."  So  they  indulged 
themselves  in  a  great  military  display,  ponder- 
ous orations,  and  much  pageantry  of  all  sorts, 
by  way  of  illustrating  the  joyful  occasion. 

*The  sovereignty  of  Holland  and  Zealand,  however,  still  remained 
with  the  prince,  as  those  provinces  would  not  consent  to  an7  change. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

CONSPIRACIES  AND    CRIMES. 

MONTH  after  the  inauguration  of  Anjou, 
there  occurred  at  Antwerp  an  event  of  a 
totally  different  nature,  which  for  a  time 
wholly  absorbed  the  public  mind.  It  was 
the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Prince  of  Or- 
ange. 

Two  years  had  passed  since  a  price  was  set 
upon  his  head,  yet  ever  since  that  time  there 
had  been  persons  anxiously  seeking  an  oppor- 
tunity to  earn  the  promised  reward.  The  pres- 
ent occasion  was  the  birthday  of  Anjou,  March 
18th,  1582.  A  great  festival  was  appointed  for 
that  evening,  which  the  prince  was  of  course 
expected  to  attend.  For  some  reason,  however, 
the  assassin  did  not  wait  for  that,  but  went  at 
dinner-time  to  the  private  residence  of  Orange, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  citadel.     Two  Neth- 

461 


462  WILLIAM   THE    SILENT. 

erland  noblemen,  and  two  distinguished  com- 
missioners from  France,  dined  with  Orange 
that  day.  His  son,  young  Maurice  of  Nassau, 
and  two  of  his  nephews,  were  also  present. 
Upon  rising  from  table,  the  prince  led  the  way 
from  the  dining-room,  still  conversing  with  his 
guests  as  they  passed  to  the  ante-chamber. 
Just  then  some  one  advanced  from  among  the 
servants  with  a  petition  in  his  hand.  The  stran- 
ger was  a  shabby-looking  youth,  small  of  stature, 
of  a  pale  and  sallow  complexion.  The  prince 
kindly  took  the  offered  paper,  for  he  was  ever 
accessible  even  to  the  humblest  of  the  people. 
At  that  instant,  the  fellow  suddenly  drew  a 
pistol  and  discharged  it  full  at  the  prince's 
head,  to  which  it  was  so  close  as  actually  to  set 
his  beard  on  fire.  The  ball  entered  beneath  the 
right  ear,  passed  through  the  roof  of  the  mouth, 
and  came  out  on  the  opposite  side,  carrying 
away  two  teeth. 

The  prince  was  stunned  and  blinded  for  the 
moment,  though  he  did  not  fall,  and  could  not 
at  first  imagine  what  had  caused  the  shock. 
But  recovering  himself  so  as  to  comprehend 


CONSPIRACIES  AND    CRIMES.  463 

what  had  happened,  he  hastily  exclaimed,  "  Do 
not  kill  him !  I  forgive  him  my  death."  It 
was  too  late ;  two  of  the  gentlemen  had  run 
the  assassin  through  with  their  swords  before 
he  had  time  to  stir  from  the  spot,  and  the  hal- 
berdiers immediately  rushed  upon  him  also,  so 
that  he  received  not  less  than  thirty-two  mortal 
wounds. 

The  prince  was  supported  to  his  chamber,  and 
the  surgeons  examined  the  wound.  The  flame 
from  the  pistol  had  cauterized  the  orifice  made 
by  the  ball,  and  this  alone  had  prevented  his 
bleeding  to  death  on  the  spot.  The  excitement 
in  the  city  was  immense,  for  it  was  even  sur- 
mised that  Anjou  had  some  secret  share  in  the 
deed.  But  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  the 
whole  affair  was  of  Spanish  origin.  The  prince 
sent  a  message  begging  the  people  to  make  no 
tumult ;  but  in  case  God  should  call  him  to 
himself,  to  remember  him  tenderly,  and  faith- 
fully to  obey  their  new  ruler. 

The  young  assassin,  John  Jaureguy  by  name, 
was  the  servant  of  Gaspar  d'  Anastro,  a  Spanish 
merchant  of  Antwerp.     This  gentleman,  being 


464  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

in  an  embarrassed  condition  pecuniarily,  had 
bethought  him  that  he  might  retrieve  his  affairs 
with  the  handsome  reward  long  since  offered  to 
him  who  would  murder  William  of  Orange.  He 
had  entered  .into  a  private  and  personal  con- 
tract with  Philip,  duly  signed  and  sealed  by 
the  royal  hand  as  well  as  his  own,  according 
to  which  he  promised  to  dispatch  the  illustri- 
ous victim  within  a  certain  time.  For  this  ser- 
vice he  was  to  be  compensated  with  eighty 
thousand  ducats,  and  made  a  knight  of  San- 
tiago. 

Anastro  did  not  like  to  risk  his  own  precious 
neck,  however,  for  as  he  piously  observed, 
"  Grod  had  probably  reserved  him  for  other 
things."  Being  rather  sharp  at  bargaining, 
he  let  out  the  dangerous  job  to  his  servant  for 
three  thousand  crowns,  the  balance  of  course 
going  into  his  own  pocket.  Before  the  deed 
was  done,  he  left  the  city,  and  was  soon  safe 
within  Parma's  lines.  Two  other  accomplices 
were  arrested,  however,  confessed  their  guilt, 
and  were  executed  within  ten  days.  Had  not 
the  prince  specially  requested   that  if  justice 


CONSPIRACIES  AND    CRIMES.  465 

absolutely  required  their  death,  they  should  be 
executed  in  the  manner  least  painful,  they 
would  doubtless  have  suffered  the  severest  tor- 
tures at  the  hands  of  the  exasperated  populace. 
For  weeks  the  prince  lay  in  a  very  dangerous 
condition.  A  solemn  fast  was  observed  in  Ant- 
werp on  the  third  day,  and  a  contemporary 
writer  records  that  "  never  had  the  churches 
been  so  thronged,  nor  so  many  tears  been  shed." 
At  the  end  of  three  weeks,  he  was  thought  to 
be  better,  and  thanksgivings  began  to  be  min- 
gled witli  the  continued  prayers  for  his  re- 
covery. But  on  the  5th  of  April,  his  case  be- 
came again  exceedingly  alarming.  The  cica- 
trix upon  the  neck,  which  had  previously  pre- 
vented any  serious  loss  of  blood,  now  sloughed 
off.  The  hemorrhage  was  excessive ;  and  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  check  it  by  a  bandage, 
without  suffocating  the  patient.  The  prince 
calmly  bade  farewell  to  his  children,  and  all 
hope  seemed  to  be  over.  But  one  of  the  sur- 
geons contrived  to  arrest  the  flow  of  blood,  sim- 
ply by  having  the  orifice  of  the  wound  firmly 
and  constantly  compressed  by  the  thumb  of  an 

30 


466  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

assistant.  Night  and  day,  successive  attend- 
ants watched  thus  at  the  bedside,  each  in  his 
turn  guarding  the  portals  of  life,  until  at  last 
the  wound  closed  again.  Upon  the  2nd  of 
May,  the  prince  was  able  to  offer  his  thanks- 
givings in  the  great  cathedral,  surrounded  by 
vast  multitudes  of  tearful  eyes  and  rejoicing 
hearts. 

But  his  devoted  wife,  the  excellent  Charlotte 
de  Bourbon,  was  even  then  on  her  death-bed. 
Worn  out  by  the  incessant  watching  and  agitat- 
ing suspense  of  those  anxious  weeks,  she  was 
taken  with  a  violent  fever,  and  expired  only 
three  days  after  the  public  thanksgiving  for  the 
prince's  recovery.  She  had  ever  been  inex- 
pressibly dear  to  her  illustrious  husband,  and 
this  sorrowful  and  unexpected  event  was  near 
costing  him  a  relapse.  But  he  was  mercifully 
spared. 

During  this  year  Parma's  military  operations 
went  on  rather  languidly,  for  want  of  sufficient 
forces.  After  the  United  Provinces  concluded 
their  compact  with  Anjou,  he  persuaded  the 
"  reconciled  "  states  that  it  was  necessary  to 


CONSPIRACIES  AND    CRIMES.  467 

recall  the  foreign  troops.  Accordingly  Spanish 
and  Italian  regiments  poured  into  the  Nether- 
land  territories  once  more,  as  if  there  had  never 
been  the  least  objection >  and  the  Walloons  now 
discovered  that  to  be  "reconciled"  was  to  be 
subjugated,  just  as  their  northern  neighbors  had 
predicted  that  it  would  be. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  imposing  ceremonies 
and  magnificent  display  with  which  the  new 
sovereign  had  been  welcomed,  Anjou  soon 
began  to  find  his  position  decidedly  irksome. 
The  "  muzzle  "  was  not  altogether  convenient 
to  wear.  His  base  favorites  were  ever  insinuat- 
ing that  he  ought  to  have  not  merely  the  sem- 
blance but  the  reality  of  power.  Suppose  the 
estates  and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  their  real 
ruler,  had  denied  it  to  him  ;  he  could  still  take 
it  by  force,  and  this  he  now  resolved  to  do. 

His  plan  was  to  occupy  the  chief  cities  in 
Flanders  with  his  own  troops,  seizing  them  all, 
if  possible,  on  the  same  day.  The  15th  of 
January,  1583,  was  fixed  upon.  In  several 
cities  the  plot  was  successful.  Bruges  had  a 
timely  warning,  and   closed  her  gates.     Ant- 


468  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

werp,  the  duke's  own  residence,  was  not  at- 
tempted until  the  following  day. 

At  the  time,  there  were  several  thousand 
French  troops  encamped  close  at  hand.  He 
professed  to  intend  sending  them  against  the 
city  of  Endhoven.  But  just  at  the  hour  when 
nearly  everybody  in  Antwerp  was  at  dinner, 
Anjou  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  out  of  the 
palace-yard,  in  the  direction  of  the  camp,  es- 
corted by  his  usual  body-guard  and  some  troop- 
ers beside.  When  they  reached  the  city  gate 
the  duke  gave  his  followers  a  signal,  and  then 
spurred  off  to  his  camp,  while  they  sprang 
upon  the  burgher  guard  at  the  portal,  and 
butchered  every  man.  Their  comrades  outside 
immediately  rushed  into  the  town,  fancying 
that  Antwerp  lay  wholly  at  their  mercy,  and 
that  they  had  only  to  plunder  and  butcher  at  their 
pleasure,  as  the  Spaniards  had  done  seven  years 
before.  Galloping  at  full  speed  through  the 
quiet  streets  in  every  direction,  they  shouted, 
"  The  city  is  won  !  the  city  is  won  !  Hurrah 
for  the  Duke  of  Anjou  !     Kill,  kill,  kill !  " 

The  astonished  burghers,  leaving  their  din- 


CONSPIRACIES   AND    CRIMES.  469 

Ders,  looked  out  from  windows  and  doors  to 
discover  the  meaning  of  the  horrid  uproar,  and 
were  assailed  with  showers  of  bullets.  It  was 
soon  evident  that  Anjou's  soldiers  were  at- 
tempting to  repeat  the  awful  scenes  of  the 
"  Spanish  Fury."  Already  they  felt  so  sure  of 
their  prey  that  they  were  scattering  here  and 
there  to  ransack  warehouses  and  jewelers' 
shops.  The  burghers  saw  that  their  only  reli- 
ance must  be  upon  God  and  their  own  brave 
hearts,  and  they  flew  at  once  to  the  rescue. 
The  alarm  was  sounded,  and  the  city  guards 
mustered  on  the  instant.  The  citizens  rose,  to 
a  man,  against  the  invaders  of  their  homes. 
Even  women  and  children  shared  in  the  sudden 
enthusiasm  and  the  desperate  resolve.  Mount- 
ing the  roofs,  they  hurled  down  upon  the  heads 
of  their  foes  whatever  might  crush  or  wound. 
Within  an  hour,  most  of  the  four  thousand 
French  soldiers,  to  whom  Anjou  had  abandoned 
the  city  when  he  passed  out  of  the  Kipdorp 
gate,  were  either  captured  or  slain.  Not  less 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  French  nobles  of 
high  rank  perished  in  the  infamous  attempt, 
together  with  nearly  two  thousand  common  sol- 


470  WILLIAM    THE   SILENT. 

diers.  Less  than  one  hundred  of  the  burghers 
fell. 

Such  was  the  "  French  Fury."  Its  aim  had 
been  no  less  diabolical  than  that  of  the  Span- 
iards seven  years  before.  It  was  no  fault  of 
Anjou's  that  Antwerp  had  not  been  a  second 
time  drenched  in  the  blood  of  her  own  sons. 
Had  not  their  eagerness  for  plunder  led  the 
invaders  to  scatter  in  search  of  it  prematurely, 
the  plot  might  easily  have  succeeded.  But  it 
proved  an  utter  and  ruinous  failure,  and  Anjou 
hastened  to  escape  from  the  scene  where  his 
treachery  had  been  so  completely  exposed.  On 
the  march  he  lost  a  thousand  of  his  remaining 
men,  in  crossing  a  tract  which  the  Mechlin  peo- 
ple had  purposely  inundated,  to  impede  his 
escape. 

Shortly  after  this  Anjou  left  for  Paris,  —  as  it 
proved  never  to  return.  On  the  10th  of  June, 
1584,  he  died,  in  extreme  suffering,  and  sweat- 
ing blood  from  every  pore.  We  can  hardly  sup- 
pose it  was  any  great  grief  to  the  provinces 
that  their  connection  with  so  bad  a  man  was 
thus  finally  terminated. 

Parma  availed  himself  of  the  treachery  of 


CONSPIRACIES   AND    CRIMES.  471 

Anjou  to  get  possession  of  several  towns  thus 
left  exposed,  among  which  were  Dunkirk  and 
Newport.  The  province  of  Flanders,  though 
not  one  of  the  seven  which  had  formed  the 
Union  of  Utrecht,  was,  for  the  most  part,  in 
sympathy  with  them  rather  than  with  the  Wal- 
loon states,  and  several  of  its  chief  cities  for  a 
time  belonged  to  that  confederation.  But  suc- 
cessive treasons,  both  great  and  small,  were 
doing  much  harm  to  the  patriot  cause  in  that 
quarter,  as  well  as  at  the  uorth. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

THE    ASSASSINATION. 

fUST  about  a  year  after  that  attempt  upon 
the  prince's  life  which  had  so  nearly  proved 
Tfi  fatal,  another  person  came  from  Spain  to 
Antwerp  upon  the  same  errand.  He  was 
arrested,  confessed  his  design,  and  suffered 
death  in  March,  1583.  In  the  spring  of  1584, 
a  merchant  of  Flushing,  named  Hans  Hanzoon, 
having  arranged  his  plot  with  the  Spanish  am- 
bassador in  Paris,  tried  to  assassinate  the  prince 
by  mean*  of  gunpowder  concealed  under  his 
dwelling  in  that  place,  and  also  under  his  seat 
in  church.  He  too  was  detected  and  put  to 
death.  About  the  same  time  Parma  engaged 
still  another  person  to  poison  Orange.  He  had 
advanced  money,  indeed,  to  numerous  would- 
be  assassins  from  time  to  time  ;  but  in  general 

472 


THE   ASSASSINATION.  473 

they  pocketed  the  funds  without  attempting  to 
do  the  job.  However,  at  last  there  came  the 
right  man. 

It  was  now  the  summer  of  1584.  During 
the  previous  year,  the  prince  had  married 
Louisa  de  Coligny,  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
admiral.  She  was  a  most  amiable  and  excel- 
lent woman,  and  was  the  mother  of  the  after- 
ward celebrated  stadtholder,  Frederic  Henry. 
They  were  at  present  living  quietly  in  the  pleas- 
ant little  city  of  Delft,  in  the  southern  part  of 
Holland.  Their  residence  was  a  plain,  two- 
storied  brick  building,  which  had  once  been  a 
cloister,  upon  the  old  Delft  street.  This  was 
one  of  the  principal  thoroughfares,  and  along 
its  course,  as  usual  in  Dutch  cities,  ran  a 
canal,  bordered  on  each  side  with  lime-trees. 
There  was  a  spacious  court-yard  in  front  of  the 
house,  and  at  one  side  a  narrow  lane  running 
back  to  the  stables  and  other  out-buildings, 
which  extended  to  the  city  wall. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  July,  des- 
patches relating  to  the  death  of  Anjou  had 
arrived  from  France,  and  the  prince  read  them 


474  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

while  still  in  his  bed.  Desiring  to  obtain  some 
additional  details  in  regard  to  Anjou's  illness,  he 
sent  for  the  messenger  to  come  to  his  chamber. 
It  was  a  young  man  calling  himself  Francis 
Guion,  who  had  some  months  before  asked  pro- 
tection, pretending  to  be  a  Calvinist  from  Bur- 
gundy, whose  father  had  suffered  martyrdom 
for  his  faith.  He  was  an  insignificant-looking 
person,  very  quiet  and  exemplary  in  his  life, 
and  having  a  devout  air  which  corresponded 
well  with  his  professions.  Here  was  the  assas- 
sin, and  his  victim  lay  before  him,  alone,  un- 
armed, in  his  bed. 

Balthazar  Gerard,  for  such  was  his  true 
name,  had  burned  to  commit  this  crime  for 
seven  long  years.  He  was  a  fanatic  rather 
than  a  mercenary  assassin,  and  in  spite  of  dis- 
tance, poverty,  and  dangers,  he  had  at  length 
made  his  way  to  the  spot  where  he  might  hope 
to  gain  access  to  the  prince.  He  had  not  done 
this  without  the  knowledge  and  encouragement 
of  Catholic  ecclesiastics,  and  of  Parma  himself. 
But  the  latter,  grown  wiser  by  past  experience, 
had  declined  to  advance  money  for  his  expenses. 


THE   ASSASSINATION.  475 

It  would  be  time  to  pay  the  wages  when  the 
work  was  done. 

This  was  his  first  opportunity  of  approaching 
the  prince's  person,  and  it  was  so  unexpected 
that  he  was  not  prepared  to  improve  it,  being 
totally  unarmed.  Having  answered  the  prince's 
inquiries,  he  was  forced  to  go  away  leaving  the 
bloody  task  unaccomplished.  He  could  not 
hope  ever  to  have  another  chance  like  this ; 
but  he  resolved  that  he  would  not  again  miss 
any  opportunity.  He  lingered  a  little  about 
the  court-yard  to  make  a  stealthy  survey  of  the 
premises,  and  a  sergeant  of  halberdiers  asked 
what  he  was  waiting  for.  To  this  he  replied 
that  he  wished  very  much  to  g6  to  church  that 
day,  but  his  attire  was  so  dusty  and  shabby  that 
he  could  not  venture  to  do  so.  He  needed 
shoes  and  stockings  particularly.  The  sergeant 
mentioned  his  case  to  an  officer,  the  officer  told 
the  prince,  and  the  prince  at  once  bade  him 
give  the  stranger  some  money. 

But  instead  of  buying  clothes,  Gerard  next 
morning  purchased  with  that  money  a  pair  of 
pistols  from  a  soldier.     The  bullets  which  he 


476  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

designed  to  use  lie  had  means  of  poisoning,  so 
that  wherever  they  might  lodge,  their  wound 
must  be  fatal. 

He  had  not  to  wait  long.  On  Tuesday,  July 
10th,  1584,  as  the  prince  was  going  to  dinner, 
with  his  wife  leaning  on  his  arm,  and  other 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  family  following, 
Gerard  appeared  at  the  door  and  requested  a 
passport.  The  princess  felt  a  sudden  pang  of 
apprehension  at  sight  of  the  stranger's  coun- 
tenance, which  impressed  her  as  that  of  a  vil- 
lain. But  to  her  anxious  questioning  William 
carelessly  replied  that  it  was  only  somebody 
wanting  a  passport,  and  bade  his  secretary 
make  it  out. 

It  was  about  two  o'clock  when  the  company 
left  the  table  to  return  to  the  apartments  above, 
the  prince  leading  the  way,  as  before.  The 
dining-room  was  on  the  ground  floor,  and  there 
was  a  narrow  vestibule  between  it  and  the  stair- 
case. Upon  the  left  side  of  the  vestibule,  and 
near  the  foot  of  the  staircase  which  they  were 
approaching,  there  was  a  deep  archway  sunk  in 
the  wall,  through  whicji  one  might  pass  out 


THE  ASSASSINATION.  477 

into  the  lane  at  the  side  of  the  house.  The 
stairs  were  lighted  by  a  large  window,  half-way 
up ;  but  the  sunken  arch  was  in  shadow. 

As  the  prince  commenced  leisurely  to  ascend 
the  stairs,  the  insignificant  figure  of  Gerard 
suddenly  emerged  from  the  dim  recess;  there  was 
the  flash  and  the  report  of  a  pistol,  and  Orange 
fell,  pierced  by  three  balls.  One  of  the  officers 
in  attendance  caught  the  prince  in  his  arms. 
He  simply  exclaimed  in  French,  "  0  my  God, 
have  mercy  upon  my  soul !  0  my  God,  have 
mercy  upon  this  poor  people !  "  Then,  begin- 
ning to  swoon,  he  was  carried  to  a  couch  in  the 
dining-room.  His  sister  asked  if  he  com- 
mended his  soul  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  faintly 
answered,  "  Yes."  It  was  the  last  word  he  ever 
spoke.  In  a  few  moments  he  expired,  in  the 
arms  of  the  princess,  and  his  sister,  Catherine 
of  Schwartzburg. 

The  murderer,  dropping  his  pistols  the  mo- 
ment he  had  fired,  darted  through  the  door  of  the 
archway,  and  thence  up  the  lane  toward  the 
ramparts,  closely  pursued  by  several  pages  and 
halberdiers.  Chancing  to  stumble  in  his  flight, 
he  was  overtaken  before  reaching  the  wall,  and 


478  WILLIAM   THE   SILENT. 

brought  back  to  the  house.  He  attempted  no 
denial  of  the  crime,  and  manifested  neither 
regret  nor  fear.  In  his  quiet  way,  he  evidently 
gloried  in  the  deed.  The  clement  prince  was 
no  longer  there  to  intercede,  and  the  murderer 
was  finally  sentenced  to  the  most  savage  tor- 
tures which  the  fury  of  the  people  could  devise. 
He  endured  his  sufferings  with  unshaken  forti- 
tude to  the  last,  declaring  that  were  it  possible, 
he  would  repeat  the  act,  even  should  it  cost  him 
a  thousand  deaths.  The  promised  reward  was 
duly  paid  to  his  parents,  who  were  still  living 
in  Burgundy. 

"  The  prince  was  entombed,"  says  Motley, 
"  on  the  3rd  of  August,  at  Delft,  amid  the  tears 
of  a  whole  nation.  Never  was  a  more  exten- 
sive, unaffected,  and  legitimate  sorrow  felt  at 
the  death  of  any  human  being."  We  Ameri- 
cans can  well  conceive  what  it  was.  Since  our 
honored  countryman  penned  those  words, 
we  have  witnessed  something  a  good  deal  like 
the  scene  they  described,  —  a  funeral  whose 
train  stretched  half  across  a  continent,  and 
whose  mourners  were  counted  by  millions. 

To  mortal  eyes,  it  seemed  that  William  of 


THE   ASSASSINATION.  479 

Orange  had  been  removed  long  before  his  work 
was  done.  But  God's  cause  never  goes  to  ship- 
wreck because  he  1ms  called  away  the  pilot ;  for, 
though  unseen,  his  own  hand  is  ever  on  the 
helm.  Perhaps  it  was  needful  thus  to  teach 
men  the  sacred  lesson,  "  It  is  better  to  trust  in 
the  Lord  than  to  put  confidence  in  princes." 
Perhaps  also  the  spectacle  of  their  benefactor's 
martyrdom  was  required  to  complete  and  to 
crown  the  effect  of  his  noble  and  self-sacrificing 
life,  —  to  embalm  with  an  everlasting  fragrance 
his  beloved  name.  Meanwhile,  Providence  had 
other  agencies  in  reserve  by  which  to  complete 
the  deliverance  of  the  Netherlands,  and  though 
the  struggle  was  long  and  sore,  victory  was 
achieved  at  last. 

It  was  the  great  object  of  William  the  Silent 
to  secure  religious  liberty  to  all.  He  was 
almost  the  only  man  of  his  time  whose  mind 
could  admit  the  grand  idea.  We,  in  this 
favored  age,  can  scarcely  conceive  what  it  would 
be  to  have  freedom  of  conscience  denied.  Our 
danger  is  rather  that  we  shall  have  freedom 
without  conscience,  —  that  we  shall  let  a  vague 


480  WILLIAM  THE   SILENT. 

liberalism  drift  us  away  from  religious  princi 
pie  altogether.  Yet  in  order  to  be  tolerant  of 
the  diverse  beliefs  of  others  we  need  not  be 
lax  and  unsettled  in  our  own.  It  is  not  from 
a  spiritual  vacuum  that  either  Christian  charity 
or  moral  heroism  may  be  expected  to  proceed. 
The  history  of  the  Netherland  conflict  well 
illustrates  the  need  of  a  warm  and  living  faith 
in  a  divine  Saviour,  to  nerve  us  for  life's  bat- 
tles, as  well  as  to  prepare  us  for  heaven's  re- 
wards. 

THE   END. 


-,£R 


M^y 


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